The New New Adventures of Lois and Clark
by knb11288
Summary: Lois and Clark are engaged, but what happens when Lana returns?   Almost completely AU, with some scenes from season 10.
1. Chapter 1

The New _New_ Adventures of Lois and Clark

By knb110288

A/N: I wanted to write a continuation of what happens between the end of season 10 and what we saw between Lois and Clark in Homecoming. I kind of imagined it as a reworking of the old Dean Cain and Teri Hatcher show, The New Adventures of Lois and Clark, but it's really more Smallville than anything else. Hope you enjoy!

Clark stood nervously at the hostess stand, fidgeting with his red and white striped tie. He straightened it, and then re-straightened it before finally smoothing it down over his dark blue shirt. He had worn the tie that Lois had gotten him last Christmas. She always joked that he looked like a candy cane when he wore it, but it had been a favorite for awhile, because it reminded him of her. The shirt was new, which was surprising because he very rarely bought new clothes, but he figured for a special occasion such as this, it warranted a new shirt and one of his better suits.

He had never been this nervous, but he tried not to let it show. The only way the average passerby would notice that the large man at the hostess stand was in any way nervous was the way he kept adjusting his old-fashioned horn rimmed glasses.

Lois walked into the restaurant, her arm hooked through her father's. She looked like there was anywhere else she'd rather be. Clark grinned at her and she managed a weak smile back. She looked beautiful. She was wearing a red vintage dress. It had a high collar with a low v-cut neckline. Her shoulders were completely bare and the hemline hit right above the knee, flowing loosely around her thighs.

"General Lane, good to see you again sir." Clark extended his hand and the General smiled at him. Lois looked confusedly between the two of them. When was the last time they had seen each other? Like, 7 years ago?

"Good to see you, too, Kent."

Clark smiled at Lois again and she smiled back at him. It was nice seeing her father and her boyfriend getting along.

"We're just waiting for Mom. Her flight got in a little late from D.C. I gave the hostess our names so they can take her to us when she gets here."

Lois unhooked her arm from her father and Clark wrapped his arm around her. He was wearing the cologne she had bought him for his birthday last year. The smell of the cologne and his large, warm, comforting shoulder around her instantly calmed her.

The hostess led them to a table, which was right off of a dance floor. A chandelier hung low over the wood floor. Candles glittered on each of the tables.

"Wow, Clark. I know you wanted to go all out since both of our parents were in town, but I think you really out did yourself. She said to him as he pulled out her chair and she slid into it.

Clark turned to sit in the chair next to her, the one closer to the wall, but found that the General had already slid behind them and plopped himself down next to her. Lois looked up at him apologetically but Clark shrugged and sat down across from her.

The waiter approached the table. "Monsieur and Miss? What can I get you to drink?"

"Uh yes," Clark cleared his throat. "A bottle of champagne, please."

The waiter walked away and the hostess approached again, this time leading Martha Kent.

"Hi all! Sorry I'm late." She grinned happily at all of them and Clark stood up and pulled his mother's chair out for her and she put her hand on his.

"How was the trip, Martha?" Lois asked, leaning forward and putting her elbows on the table.

"It was wonderful. It's so nice to be home. I can't wait to go back to the farm and see the old house."

Lois smiled at Martha. Clark felt something nudge against his leg and jumped a little in his seat.

"You alright, Kent?" The General asked him, narrowing his eyes a little.

"Fine. I'm fine." Clark gave him a tight grin, then glared at his girlfriend as she slid a high heeled foot up his leg, grinning like a cat who had found a bowl of cream.

The waiter returned with the champagne and they all placed their orders.

Dinner went smoother than Clark had expected. Martha was an amazing conversationalist, and she even got the General to open up a little bit. Clark even allowed himself two glasses of champagne. Even though alcohol didn't affect him like it affected the normal person, he still usually only allowed himself to have one drink.

"That was an amazing meal." Martha dropped her napkin next to her plate and leaned back in her chair. Clark lifted the final forkful of his 20 oz. prime rib to his mouth as the General looked at him in awe.

"I don't think I've ever seen a man eat half of an appetizer plus a 20 ouncer and not throw up, Kent."

Clark shrugged and Lois flushed. He knew that she was tipsy. Not drunk, like she'd been the night of Chloe's engagement party, but she was tipsy enough to let her inhibitions come down. Her foot went back to his pant leg and this time he gave her a small smile, then stood up.

"May I have this dance, Lois?" He held out his hand and she took it, beaming up at him.

They walked hand in hand to the dance floor and Clark pulled her close, praying he wouldn't step on her feet.

"Well, this evening turned out well, don't you think?" She asked him, twining her arms about his neck and allowing her fingers to dabble in the hairs at his neck. Her touch set him on fire, but he ignored the pulling feeling in his heart and in other areas and smiled at her.

"The evening's only beginning, Miss Lane." He said, twirling her expertly, just like his mom had shown him and dipping her slightly.

Suddenly, the lights went a little dimmer and a different song began to play. Lois recognized it instantly as the song that Clark had played that night in his barn when they had confessed their love to each other.

She smiled at him again. "Did you request this?"

"Maybe." He said, a slightly devilish grin on his face. Suddenly, he stopped smiling and looked down at her seriously.

"Are you ok, Smallville? You look a little green around the gills." She said, running her hand through his hair again.

He nodded. "Lois. There's something I want to tell you."

"Ok…"She trailed off.

"Lois. I love you so much. But, it's more than a love. You are perfect in every way. You're brash and abrasive and…"

"Wow, thanks Smallville." She said, rolling her eyes.

"No, let me finish. You're passionate and beautiful and understanding and…well, you're everything to me." He pulled away from her. "Lois. When you're gone from my side, it's worse than the time I was shot with a kryptonite bullet. It's a physical ache. I love you." He kneeled down in the middle of the dance floor, and pulled out a ring box.

Lois gasped dramatically. Then glanced furtively around and blushed when she saw that everyone was watching.

"Clark…get up. Please." She said, laughing a little in nervousness.

"No, Lois. Not until you answer my question." He opened the box to reveal the most beautiful ring she'd ever seen. "Will you marry me?"

She gazed down at the ring and her eyes began to well up with tears. She nodded.

Clark grinned up at her. He slid the ring onto her finger, then stood up, wrapping her in a hug so tight she thought that she would burst. He swung her around gleefully and she noticed that there was a smattering of applause. She blushed into his shirt collar.

Martha and the General had rushed out to the dance floor. Lois let go of her now fiancée and wrapped his mother in a huge hug. Clark shook the General's hand and then moved to give his mother a hug as well.

The night ended fairly early, despite the high that all four of the people felt. As they were walking out of the door, Martha pulled Clark aside while the General helped Lois get her coat on.

"Clark. I reserved a hotel room for myself for tonight so I wouldn't have to drive back to Smallville in the dark. I'll see you out at the farm tomorrow morning. You and Lois can have the farm tonight." She said it off handedly, but Clark blushed the same.

"Mom, really that's not necessary…" he said, clearing his throat.

"No, no, I insist. I'll see you tomorrow." Martha stepped away before approaching the General.

"General, will you walk me to my car? Clark volunteered to take Lois back to her apartment in Smallville so you wouldn't have to drive all the way out there. What hotel are you staying at?" She asked, leading him out of the restaurant.

Lois grinned at fiancée, and looped her arm through his. They stepped out into the brisk air. She turned and gazed up into his eyes. He leaned down and pressed his lips to hers, pulling her close.

She slid her tongue into his mouth, swirling it around sensuously. He groaned into her mouth and she grinned.

"We have two options. We can sit in the car for 3 hours to get back to Smallville, or I can super speed us back to the farm." He said the last part eagerly, obviously hoping she would choose the latter.

She smiled devilishly. "Clark. We cannot leave your truck here all night. Let's go, Smallville." She grabbed his hand and dragged him to where his red truck was parked. He allowed himself to be led, reluctantly.

He opened the door for her before sliding into the cabin himself. The engine turned over and Clark cranked the heat up so Lois wouldn't get cold.

She slid across the leather seat, snuggling herself under his arm. He smiled and rubbed his hand up and down her arm.

"Well, did you have a nice time, Miss Lane?" He asked, taking his eyes off of the road to look at her.

She smiled up at him, then held out her left hand, admiring the diamond that glittered on her finger.

"It's beautiful, Smallville. I love it." She rested her hand on his thigh and snuggled into him.

He allowed his mind to wander a bit. He had wanted to propose for awhile, but had wanted to wait to talk to the General before hand. The only other person he had ever even considered proposing to was Lana, and she was so different from Lois, he couldn't imagine being married to anyone but Lois. With Lana, he had always been afraid of breaking her, but with Lois, she was…resilient.

They passed almost the entire ride to Smallville in silence. Lois had fallen asleep on him within 10 minutes of leaving Metropolis. He could tell because her breathing evened out and every so often she would give a little huff or moan and twitch against him.

Clark sighed contentedly. He was the happiest he had been in a long while. Lois and he were going to get married, he had finally learned to fly, Jor-El had finally re-entered the fortress. Yes, life was good.

Things will start to heat up and drama will come, trust me :)


	2. Chapter 2

Lois was having the most fantastic dream. She and Clark were snuggled up on the couch at the farm. It had started innocent enough, just the two of them, his arm wrapped around her, the heat of his skin searing her through her thin clothes.

He brushed his hand across her cheek as he murmured her name. "Lois." Then he pressed his lips to hers and she melted a little. His hand came to rest at the base of her throat and he ran this thumb across the hollow there. She moaned as his lips touched her hair.

Suddenly, the couch lurched. She jumped from her seat in the truck as she was thrown from her dream.

"Sorry." Clark looked at her across the cab sheepishly. "Bump."

Lois rubbed the sleep out of her eye. "Where are we?"

"We're about 20 minutes outside of Smallville. You've slept almost the whole way sleepy-head." He said, grinning at her and ruffling her hair.

"Well." Lois straightened her back and gave him a devilish grin. "I'm awake now." He must have moved her while she was asleep. The last thing she remembered was leaning up against him, but she was no longer in the middle of the cab, but officially on his side. Her eyes slid over to his body. He had rolled up the sleeves of his dress shirt to expose his thickly muscled forearms. His wrist was draped across the steering wheel and his other elbow rested on the windowsill. He had taken off his glasses, which were now resting on the dashboard.

She couldn't believe how sexy he looked. More over, she couldn't believe that she was engaged to this perfect specimen of a man. She snuggled under his arm, forcing him to wrap an arm around her and move his arm off of the window so he could drive. She buried her nose right underneath his ear. He chuckled and she grinned wickedly. He had no idea what was in store for him.

Lois ran the tip of her nose along the shell of his ear and placed a kiss along the edge of his hairline. She ran her nose down to his neck, finding the sweet spot that always drove him crazy almost instantly.

He moaned and tensed a little, his eyes slid to half-mast as he fought to keep his mind on the road. "Lois." The way he said her name made her grin, half warning, half lustful.

"Hmm?" She said, pulling away a bit to look at him.

"Not, now." He looked anxiously over at her, and she grinned, running the hand that was still resting on his thigh up a little higher.

"Lois!" He moved his arm from around her and grabbed her wrist to prevent it from moving any higher. "Seriously. Not now."

She huffed and crossed her arms, moving away from him in frustration.

"Come here." He sighed and wrapped an arm around her- forcing her to move closer to him. She kept her arms crossed, refusing to give in.

He pressed his lips into her hair. She felt them move against her curls as he said, "You'll forgive me when you see what I have waiting for us at home."

Lois straightened in her seat and looked at her fiancée. "Since when do you come up with surprises, Smallville?"

He looked offended. "Hey! What was tonight? You didn't have a clue about that, and I came up with that all on my own!"

"Oh really, are you sure you didn't have Oliver make the reservations. Are you sure you didn't ask my cousin to help you pick out a ring and are you sure you didn't get the General's 'permission' to ask for my hand?" Lois asked him, a smile playing across her lips.

Clark's jaw dropped. "How did you…?"

"Oh Smallville, you're so predictable sometimes." Lois rolled her eyes.

"I'm not that predictable…am I?" He shot her his puppy dog stare and she laughed.

"Not all the time. I mean that night last month was pretty unpredictable…" Her hand went back to his thigh and he grimaced. She reached her other hand into his shirt, working free the top two buttons.

His breathing quickened. She knew she was getting to him. Her lips went back to his neck. Her tongue darted out and made tight circles on the same spot. Her hand slid into his shirt and she dragged her nails across one of his nipples. He moaned, finally giving in a little. This was why she loved him. 1. He was a pushover and almost always did what she wanted and 2. She could be rough with him and not worry about hurting him, something that she had wanted to do with her other boyfriends, but had been too afraid to do.

She inhaled the spicy scent of his cologne plus the scent that was purely Clark, like oranges, hay and the ocean. It was intoxicating. He growled, and she felt the rumbling against her nose and mouth.

"Lois…" He was pleading with her now.

She moved her hand out from underneath his shirt and he sighed in relief. She grinned against the skin of his neck. He thought he was home free. She took a hand and ran it through the hair at the base of his neck, nibbling his ear. Her other hand slid up his thigh and cupped his now raging erection through the thin fabric of his dress pants. He moaned and bucked up against her hand, fighting to keep his eyes on the road.

"Lois. Please. Stop." He turned to her with pleading eyes. "If I crash I'll be fine, but I couldn't promise that you wouldn't at least be injured. Also-I really can't afford another truck right now."

She sighed and removed her hand from his crotch, but kept her other in his hair and her nose pressed against his neck.

She closed her eyes and nuzzled her nose against his skin, inhaling his scent again. He sighed, half in relief and half in frustration.

Lois noticed that the movement of the car had steadily increased. She peeked at the speedometer and noticed that he was going 70 on the road that led to the gravel path that would take them to the farm. The speed limit was 35.

She buried her nose in his neck again, wrapping an arm around his neck. There was something about him that made her feel like she was coming home. They were perfect together, two halves of a coin.

Clark could hardly wait until they got home and Lois could see the surprise he had left for her. It had been awhile since they had been together like this. She had been so busy after she was won the Kerth award that he had hardly seen her, even though they sat across from each other in their own private office. She had been so excited when Perry had given them that office, raising her eyebrows suggestively at him in a way that made his heart flutter in his chest. So far, they hadn't used the office in the way she had obviously wanted to. He missed when a tip would come in and they would automatically go out on the case together.

He pulled the truck up the gravel road that led to the farmhouse. He put his glasses in his pocket, opened up his door and sped around the truck to open the door.

She slid across the cab seat, and he hooked his arm under her knees and around her back. Lois wrapped her arm around his neck and clasped her hands together. He carried her up the few steps that led into the house. At the door, he set her down and put his hands firmly over her eyes.

"Really, Clark?" She asked in amusement.

"Shh." He gave her a little push and she walked through the door. He guided her to the living room. "Lois, keep your eyes closed." He took his hands off of her eyes.

She heard the faint whoosh that normally signified Clark using his super speed.

"Ok. Open your eyes." His voice came from across the room.

She opened her eyes and looked around her, and what she saw was a farmhouse completely transformed. Candles covered every free surface of the first floor. There were even candles lining the staircase. Fragrant lily petals covered the floor and their scent permeated the room. They also trailed up the stairs and disappeared on the second floor.

Clark had taken off his tie and undone the top button. He held two glasses of champagne in his hand and was grinning at her. Her face broke out into a grin and she walked up to him, and he handed her a glass.

Lois grinned at him and took the glass of champagne. "You don't think that this is a little cheesy do you?" She looked around the room. It was like something out of a movie. Definite cheese.

She looked back at her fiancée and he was giving her a hurt look. He looked incredibly deflated and she immediately regretted her comment.

She put her glass down and went to him. He put his glass down as well and wrapped her arms around her and she looked up at him. "I love it."

He grinned at her again.

"But it's still cheesy."

"Well, I can get rid of it." He set his glass of champagne down and moved toward the stairs.

"Wait." She grabbed his arm and spun him around. She pressed her lips to his and he smiled.

She pulled away. "I love it."

"I love you." He cupped her head in his hand and rubbed his thumb along the smooth contour of her cheek bone.

"I know." She smiled again, leaning into his touch. "I love you too."

She went into the cradle of his arms and pressed her cheek against his smooth dress shirt. Of all the boyfriends she had ever had, she'd never felt this way before. She'd do anything for him. She slid her hands up his back under his shirt. She leaned up and pressed her lips to the hollow his collarbone created. He groaned against her hair.

"Lois. Upstairs."

She stepped lightly onto his feet and he smiled mischeviously. There was a gust of wind. She hardly felt any movement, but when she opened her eyes they were in his bedroom. It was still weird to her, to think of the master bedroom as Clark's room. When his mother had told him she wasn't planning on returning to the farm any time soon, he had asked her if he could move into the master room. Martha had of course agreed, and he had completely redone it. When it had been Martha and Jonathon's room, it had been all wicker and white, definitely Martha's taste. Clark had changed it all, painting it a dark blue and refurnishing it with blonde wood and a red eiderdown. The focal point was the headboard of the bed. It was completely done in blonde wood and intricately carved. Lois had a nagging suspicion that Clark had done it himself. It was all so homey and so quintessential Clark- that Lois had instantly felt at home in it.

Clark pressed her back onto the carefully made bed, pressing his lips to her neck and working his way slowly down.

"Clark. Wait." He pulled back and looked up at her, questioningly.

"There's something I want to talk to you about first." She looked at him sheepishly.

"_Now_?" He pulled away, shocked. "Lois, ten minutes ago you wouldn't leave me alone, and you want to talk _now_?"

"Yes, _now_." She smiled uneasily at him. "Look. I've never really talked about this before, so please just let me get it out. Ok?"

"Ok." He was looking at her as if he wanted to see right through her and read her mind.

"Clark, stop looking at me like that. You're going to set me on fire." She grinned at her own joke.

She cleared her throat. "Ok. I love you. A lot. And that's why I wanted to talk to you about this. I don't want our relationship to be like all of my other relationships. In the past I probably would have just let this go, but then that would just harbor resentment and then we'd be broken up in no time, and I really don't want that."

He was looking at her, bewildered. "Lois, just spit it out."

"Ok. Well. It's just that…every time we've…made love, it's been just that. Making love. And while I enjoy it, I don't necessarily want the same thing every time. Every time we do it, you treat me like I'm a porcelain doll." She was blushing furiously now. "I just want something a little…rougher."

Clark leaned back, his expression unreadable. After a few seconds, he cleared his throat. Lois looked at him anxiously.

"While I appreciate you bringing this up, but, Lois, you know that I have to be careful." He looked genuinely saddened now. "It would kill me if I hurt you."

"Clark." She moved closer to him, wrapping her arms around his neck and pressing her forehead to his. From the very beginning, that had been their most intimate expression of love. "You have to trust me. If anything hurts or I don't feel comfortable with anything, I _will_ tell you. That's why I'm bringing it up now, and not in the heat of the moment."

Clark nodded slightly and her forehead moved as well. "I just wish I could give you everything you want. I want you to be happy. Maybe if you were with someone normal…"

"Clark!" She pulled away from him. "We're not going through this again. _You_ are what I want. There's no one else. I just want you to think about it. Please." She grabbed his hands and ran her thumbs along the pad of his hand.

"Lois. I know you want this, but what if I lose my control and kill you?" His brow was creased in a worried frown.

"Clark. I distinctly remember you telling me that there was a time when you didn't think you could have sex with a human AT ALL, and look at how much that's changed." She grinned at him. "I promise that if things get to be too much or if I'm in any sort of pain, I will tell you."

Clark sighed. "Ok. We'll TRY, Lois. I mean it. If it doesn't work out then we stop ok?"

She grinned again and bounced happily on the bed. She moved in and gave him a scorching kiss. He moaned as her tongue slid into his mouth and she swirled it around. God, she drove him crazy.

He pushed her down on the bed, covering her body with his. Her hands moved to unbutton his shirt, but he grabbed both of her wrists in one hand, moving them to pin them to the bed above her head. She groaned in frustration as he continued to kiss her. Her legs fell open and he moved into the cradle of her hips easily. His other hand slid beneath the neckline of her dress and underneath the strapless bra she was wearing. He could hear her breathing hitch as he cupped her breast in his hand and she was rubbing her hips against his. He ran his thumb in ever tightening circle around her nipple until she groaned in frustration.

"Clark…"

At the sound of his name, he removed his hand and flipped her over on her stomach. He quickly undid every single button on her dress and slid it off. He inhaled sharply at the sight that met him. She was wearing a black strapless bra and a matching black thong. Sheer thigh-highs encased her legs and she was still wearing the red stilettos. He took her shoes off and then slowly slid the thigh-highs down, following their progress with his nose and inhaling the perfect scent of her. She moved up onto all fours and thrust her bottom up into the air. He grinned devilishly.

Clark leaned over her and whispered in her ear, "What do you want, Lois?"

She moaned as he undid her bra, allowing it to fall forward in front of her on the bed. He slid his hands under the waistband of her thong, caressing the skin there before finally ripping it off of her.

Lois yelped. "Hey! That's one of my favorite…" She was silenced by his hands running along her ass and kisses that were placed all along her spine.

"Please, Clark." She wiggled her behind against him as he moved her hair aside to suck and nibble at the back of her neck.

"You have to tell me what you want." He breathed against her, his breath caressing her ear.

"Touch me. Please." At her words his hands went to her breasts, cupping them and running his thumbs over her hardened peaks. He tugged at them gently and her breasts felt heavier than before. He pulled her up so that she was in a kneeling position with him, and she was leaning against his hard body. She rested her head against his shoulder and he leaned down, kissing and sucking and occasionally nipping at the skin on her shoulder and neck. She could feel his erection pressing at the small of her back.

His right hand strayed down to her stomach. He let his middle finger delve into her folds, letting it rest lightly there, the tip gently rubbing her nub.

Lois groaned and rubbed against his finger. "Please, Clark."

"You have to tell me." He growled into her ear.

"I want you inside of me. I can't take this much longer." She began panting as he allowed his long finger to rub harder against her clit and also slide into her the tiniest bit.

He grinned. She felt him remove his hand and push her forward. There was a rushing noise and before she could fully hit the bed she felt his strong hands grab her hips. Her wrists slapped the comforter and she looked back. He was completely naked. He was slightly flushed and his eyes were dark. She shuddered in anticipation. In the time they had been together, she had always assumed Clark had liked his sex like he liked his ice cream-vanilla. Oh how wrong she was.

She felt the tip of his cock press at her opening. She pressed her bottom back so that he slid in a few inches. He let his breath out in a huff and then shoved roughly against her, until he was fully inside of her. She gasped and threw her head back.

He paused for a few moments, allowing her to get used to him being inside of her. She moved her hips to get him going. With one hand on her hip and the other wrapped around her body to rub against her clit, he began thrusting into her, starting off slow at first.

Lois could not believe that this was happening. Her mild mannered Clark Kent was actually fucking her. They had made love before, but it had been sweet and tender. Not that she didn't like that, but this was so much more real.

He was moving at a steady pace. She gasped, "Faster!" And his hips began to move into almost a frenzied pace. Lois felt her climax building. She couldn't hold on much longer. She turned her head slightly so she could look at him. His eyes were shut tight and his lips were moving slightly, as if he were reciting something.

Clark promised himself that he would use all of his power not to come. He wanted this night to last forever, and he knew that if he came, he'd probably fall asleep, and those hours spent sleeping seemed precious to him. Time that he could spend with her. He recited the stats of all of the baseball players in the National League and was moving onto the American League when he heard her call his name and slump onto the bed. The accompanying warm flood over his cock almost made him lose it, but he quickly pulled out.

She rolled onto her side and he laid down next to her, spooning her. Her breathing was heavy and erratic. He could hear her heart pumping wildly. Clark closed his eyes and listened as her breathing finally evened and her heartbeat slowed. She rolled over, facing him.

"Your stamina never ceases to amaze me." She grinned at him.

* * *

Lana knocked once on the door to the farmhouse and waited for a few minutes. She bounced on her toes in excitement. She couldn't wait to tell Clark that she had been cured of her kryptonite poisoning. She didn't know where he could be, unless he was working late.

Lana had spent the last two years in Gotham, working with Bruce Wayne. It was thanks to him that she was cured. However, that meant she had been pretty cut off from Metropolis news, but everything looked pretty much the same. She had tried to get a hold of Chloe to find out where Clark was, but hadn't been able to contact her former friend. Instead, she had called Oliver, who had told her he was still living on the farm. She had made him swear not to tell Clark that she was coming to visit, and he had promised, but had acted more than a little confused.

_Poor Clark. He's probably spent the last two years completely lost without me. I can just imagine him crying himself to sleep every night. _

She was lost in her own fantasy, one where Clark came bounding down the stairs and swept her into one of his tight bear hugs and then they made love all night, when she finally realized that it had been at least a few minutes since she had knocked and no one had yet answered the door.

She tried the knob and the door swung open. Her heartstrings pulled. There was a roaring fire in the fireplace. Two glasses of champagne were set on the coffee table and the entire floor was covered in lily petals. Petals trailed up the stairs and there were candles that were lit going up the stairs too.

Lana grinned at the room. This was so like Clark. Oliver must have told him about her return and he had rushed to prepare this. She walked over to the coffee table and took a swig of champagne. But, where was he?

A voice rumbled from upstairs and she smiled and headed toward the staircase.

* * *

Lois turned, facing her fiancée and resting a hand on his waist. He smiled at her. She was amazed how he could do that and still feel wide awake. Normally after they had sex he pulled her close to him and fell into a peaceful sleep, only to wake up a few hours later for more.

She moved closer to him, wanting to lay against him, and it was then that she noticed he was still hard.

She looked down, "You didn't…"

Clark shook his head and ran his fingers through her hair. "I wanted to stay awake and be with you."

Lois swallowed. She was touched that he had put off his own climax so they could spend this time together, but she wanted him to feel as fulfilled as she did. It only took a few seconds for her to make up her mind.

She pushed him onto his back and sat on him, straddling his waist. She kissed him, running the tip of her tongue along his bottom lip. He opened his mouth to her and she ran her tongue inside his mouth. He moaned and placed his hands on her waist.

She pulled away and continued her attention, this time to his neck. It took her only a second to find the same spot she had given attention to in the truck and as soon as she ran her tongue over the spot he gasped and his hips bucked up. She began working her way down, running her tongue along his sternum before finally licking his flat nipple. He whimpered slightly and she smiled, nipping her teeth at the now pebbled nipple before moving to the next one. He had speared the fingers of one of his hands through her hair and the other hand was hooked underneath the headboard.

Lois ran her tongue down his stomach and swirled her tongue in his navel before finally moving back a little to eye his raging erection. She had always known Clark was a little larger than most men, but it was his thickness that made her mouth water. He always filled her so completely. She licked her lips at the sight. He was glistening in the half light, still covered with her juices. She squeezed the base and he hissed as a pearl of precome slid out of his weeping slit and ran down the shaft. The mushroomed head was purpled and swollen and the vein that ran along it was pulsing slightly.

Just as she was about to put her mouth on him, his hand tugged on the back of her hair, pulling her away.

"Lois. Stop." His eyes were dark and hooded.

"Why? Don't you like it?" She was genuinely disappointed. They had never done this before and she knew he would like getting a blow job just as much as she liked giving them.

"No, no, of course I like it. It's just that…I understand if you don't want to. I don't want you to feel forced." He was blushing now.

"I want to! Why do you think I wouldn't want to?" Her brow was creased in a frown.

"It's just that, well…" He knew it was bad to mention another woman's name in bed, but he had to say it. "Lana refused to give them, she said they were "icky" so I guess I just assumed no one really liked giving them…"

Lois pulled away further. Shock written on her face. "Clark Jerome Kent. You mean to say you've never had a blow job?" She had just assumed that he and Lana and done all of that stuff.

Clark was beet red. He shook his head.

"Well. Prepare yourself, because I LOVE giving them." She grinned up at him and then slowly licked along the vein. He tasted salty and sweet all at the same time. She wrapped her mouth around the head and swirled her tongue around it. He groaned and she felt the vibration. She smiled and took as much of him into her mouth as she could, sucking gently.

His breath was coming in great huffs and she looked up at his face. He was staring down at her, his pupils so dialated that they looked almost black. When their eyes connected, he groaned and threw his head back.

She swallowed against her minimal gag reflex and took him deeper. He was gushing slightly, and she could feel the warmth niggling at the back of her throat. She pulled away and watched as his cock continued to leak. She swirled her tongue around the head of his engorged erection and then stuck it in the weeping slit.

She swallowed his cock once again, and he watched as he cheeks hollowed from the suction. She was bobbing her head and her hands were cupping his balls and rolling them slightly. She felt his hips begin to move in time with her.

"Lois…I'm going to…" He gasped. "Nngg…" He was trying to tell her to stop before he came, but it was like words were getting lost between his brain and his mouth. He could feel it building in his stomach and spreading outwards and could feel the heat building behind his eyes.

"Lois…stop, before I…" Suddenly, she swallowed hard and ran her tongue along his shaft and he couldn't stop.

His hips moved of their own accord as he poured into her. He couldn't control it. He felt the headboard rip off the bed and he flung his head to the side, feeling the pent up heat vision pour out of him.

Lois heard his cry and swallowed quickly as his cock twitched inside of her mouth.

She pulled away and was staring up at him, a grin on her face. Her lush, velvety lips were red and swollen and he felt like he would never catch his breath again.

He looked over and saw that the curtain to the window right by the door was on fire.

"Shit." He took a deep breath, more to steady himself than to blow out the fire, and then let it out. The fire was instantly blown out.

* * *

Lana bounded up the stairs and turned right, heading toward Clark's old room. She slowly opened the door, but things were majorly different. There were several boxes piled up against a wall and where his giant queen sized bed had once been there was now a twin. It looked like he had moved out of this room.

A small noise caught her attention. It was like a soft moan, and it was coming from Clark's parent's room. She was officially worried. What if something had happened to him? What if he was being tortured with green K? She moved quickly and silently down the hall. The door to the master bedroom was flung wide open and she carefully peaked inside.

She almost fell over in shock at what she saw.

Clark was laying spread eagle on top of the comforter of his queen size bed. One arm was hooked under the headboard of the bed and the other was tangled in the hair of a woman that was going down on him.

She didn't want to see anymore, but it was like she couldn't stop watching. He groaned as the woman bobbed her head. Her fingers were wrapped around the part of his erection that couldn't fit into her mouth.

The woman pulled away and ran her tongue along the swollen head of his penis, sticking her tongue in the leaking slit at the tip before devouring it once more.

Clark's hips began to move in time with her head. His eyes were shut tight and the muscles of his forearms were bulging.

He moaned again, louder this time, and then gasped. "Lois…I'm going to…nngg." His voice trailed off as her head moved faster and his hips moved against her. "Lois…stop, before I…" He gasped as she stopped moving and tightened her mouth around him.

The things that happened next, happened in what seemed like a millisecond. There was a crack as he ripped the headboard right off of the bed and he yelled as his hips convulsed. He turned his head toward the door, and for a second Lana thought he had seen her, but his eyes were staring at nothing. She noticed a swirling orange in the misty green depths of his eyes before the curtain right next to the door caught fire.

Lana moved back into the hall. Swallowing nervously.

"Shit," she heard him say. There was a loud gust of air and the fire went out.

Everything was still in the room. Lana took a deep breath and peaked again. They were in almost in the same position, except this time, the woman, who Lana could clearly see was Lois Lane now, had removed her mouth from Clark and was staring up at his face, which looked serene. Lois licked her lips and Clark looked down at her. He hooked his hands under her armpits and hauled her up, pressing his forehead to hers. He rolled to the side. Holding her close, Lana watched as he levitated a few inches off the bed so he could pull the heavy eiderdown over both of them.

"Lois." He said her name like she was a goddess. Lana remembered when he used to say her name like that. Lana watched as Clark pushed Lois' hair back from her face and kissed her gently.

"I love you, future Mrs. Kent."

Lana drew back into the hall sharply, her eyes welling up.

She was making her way down the stairs when she heard Lois' reply. "Hey! That's Mrs. Lane-Kent to you, mister."


	3. Chapter 3

Lois awoke to the sun streaming in through the window. It took her a few moments to realize why the curtain that normally covered the window wasn't there. She smiled sleepily as she remembered the night before.

Suddenly, she felt a breeze play across her stomach and she sighed in frustration. Clark's body was like it's own heater, and yet he always ended up wrapped in the blanket while she froze. She stretched her hand out to his side to grab a bunch of comforter and pull it away from him, but there was nothing there.

Her eyes flew open, and what she saw made her giggle. A full moon was floating above her. Clark was hovering about a foot from the ceiling. He was lying on his back, an arm behind his head. The blanket was draped over him, so all she saw was his back and butt. She stood up on the bed so that her face was even with his.

She pulled the blanket off of him and wrapped it around herself before hauling herself onto him, pressing her ear to his chest. She wasn't sure of the mechanics, but he always ran at a hot 103 degrees and his heartbeat was always a steady hum. It was incredibly comforting to her. He sighed in his sleep and wrapped his arms around her. She let her eyes drift closed as she remembered the night before.

She opened her eyes and glanced at the clock. "Oh, shit. Clark!"

His arms left her, and she sat up, straddling his waist. He stretched and grinned up at her, his slightly crooked incisors winking up at her in the sunlight.

"Hey gorgeous." He wrapped his arms around her again. "Ready for a repeat of last night?"

She smiled as he sat up and buried his face in her hair, nuzzling her ear. He pushed her auburn curls away from her neck and nibbled gently.

She sighed. "Clark. Your mother is coming out today. Unless you want her to see the evidence of last night, I suggest we start cleaning."

"Oh. Right." He scooped her up and sped her to the bathroom.

"You take a shower and I'll have things cleaned up in no time." He kissed her lightly on the lips and she turned on the shower.

Clark sped into the room and threw on a pair of pajama pants and an undershirt. Super speeding downstairs, he noticed that the candles and the fire had burned themselves out. He was thankful that they hadn't set the house on fire, downstairs and upstairs. In ten seconds he had the candles put away, the flower petals cleaned up and the house looked completely normal.

He walked into the kitchen. It was amazing how it still felt like home even though everything had changed so much. Just a few short years ago, he had been pining over Lana and trying to hide his powers as much as possible. He wouldn't trade his new life for all the money in the world.

He grinned as he opened up the refrigerator and pulled out the eggs, bacon, butter and milk. Lois's favorite breakfast was chocolate chip pancakes with fresh strawberries on top, and after the wonderful night he had had, he was willing to give her anything she wanted, despite the fact that he normally complained how unhealthy her favorite breakfast was. He wasn't quite sure what she would feel like though, he decided to also make bacon and eggs, just in case.

Clark enjoyed cooking. He loved it because it was something he had to do at normal speed and it gave him time to clear his head.

Just as he was finishing the last batch of pancakes, he heard a soft padding come down the stairs. Turning around, he saw Lois descending the staircase, clad only in his old football jersey. He smiled at her and got the small amount of orange juice from the refrigerator and two glasses. He poured most of it into her glass and pushed it towards her before drinking his down in one gulp.

She took a sip and smiled at him, and he could feel himself grinning back at her stupidly. She picked a strawberry out of the bowl he had set out and cut the top off, sliding it into her mouth and placing her fingers delicately along her lips.

"So," he said, still smiling. "What are you in the mood for?" He gestured to the full counter and she looked down at the spread before looking up at him again.

"Oh, I'm in the mood." She smiled devilishly. "Just not for breakfast."

Clark felt his heart skip and he smiled again as she turned to walk out of the room, heading for the front door.

"Lois!" He called after her. "The bedroom is upstairs."

"Oh, I know." She turned towards him, one hand resting on the wall. "But, the porch swing is this way." She rolled her hips suggestively and gave him her sultry "come hither" look, before walking towards the front door.

Just as she was reaching the door, she heard the _whoosh_ that meant Clark had definitely hurried to catch up with her.

His hand was wrapped firmly around her wrist as he pressed her up against the door, hoisting her so that her legs were wrapped firmly around his waist before devouring her mouth with his. She rubbed her center against his pelvis and noticed that he was already hard. She speared her hands through his hair, feeling the soft silky strands slip between her fingers as she tugged and he groaned.

Lois broke off the kiss so she could yank his undershirt up over his head. He lifted his arms up, holding her in place against the door with just his hips, and as soon as the dratted shirt had been flung into the hall, he placed a heady kiss on her lush silky lips. She moaned as his hands slid up the jersey to cup her bare breasts, drawing circles around the rosy nipples before tugging on them earnestly.

She gently pushed him away and his hands slid out from under her shirt. She smiled at him. He looked so forlorn at being pushed away. His hair was mussed, his lips scarlet from kissing and there was a tent in his blue plaid pajama pants.

Lois turned and opened the door, looking over her shoulder at him seductively. Clark grinned at her wolfishly, and she stepped over the threshold of the house onto the porch, holding her hand out to him. She watched as his eyes focused on something in the distance, and she whipped around. There was a maroon SUV right outside the porch, and a petite brunette hopping down from the driver's seat and walking towards them.

Clark grabbed Lois and pulled her in front of him, blocking his lower half from view. She felt his erection against the small of her back and smiled. She turned to look at him and watched as he pasted a fake smile on his face to block the look of shock that had crossed over him.

"Lana."


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: I'm not sure when the next time I'll get to update is, considering exams are approaching and the holidays are coming up, which means more work for me. Please keep reviewing, because reviews are air to an author, and you guys are simply the best!

Clark ran his hand across his face and through his hair as he put the coffee pot on. He had run upstairs to shower and change after Lana had shown up. It was too bad that cold showers didn't work on him, so it had taken him an extra ten minutes in the shower than it normally did.

He came downstairs to find Lois fully dressed for work, and Lana sitting across from her, both in complete silence. Lois was picking the remnants of pancakes and she seemed perfectly happy to sit in comfortable silence across from Clark's ex-girlfriend, who had a distinctly uncomfortable expression on her face.

Clark poured two cups of coffee and put a splash of creamer and two sugars in one and set it in front of Lois, who smiled up at him.

Lana smiled at Clark and leaned forward, pushing her boobs up so that the tops of them peeked out of the pink v-neck top she was wearing. Clark felt his ire rise and also felt Lois stiffen next to him.

"So. How were you able to get rid of the kryptonite poisoning, exactly?" Lois said, leaning forward in the exact same position as Lana.

"Well, after I left Smallville, I went to work for Bruce Wayne in Gotham. He just so happens to be the richest man in the country, so I convinced him to do some research for me." She smiled at Clark.

"What kind of research?" He leaned heavily on the back of Lois's chair. He had worked with Bruce Wayne before, and while he liked the man, he didn't trust him. Case in point-he hadn't told Clark that Lana had been working for him and that he had been helping her. Although, to be fair, he wasn't sure Bruce knew that he and Lana had a history.

"Oh, you know. Just some research on how getting rid of kryptonite. It actually may come in handy to you, Clark." She attempted a seductive smile, but it only served to turn his stomach.

Lois leaned back in her chair to look at him. It was funny, he could read Lois with just one look. He'd never been able to do that with any of his other relationships. With a simple raise of her eyebrows, Clark knew exactly what she was saying. _Do you believe this bullshit?_

He smiled bitterly to show just what he thought and then turned to Lana.

"Well Lana, we have to get going. My mom will be here soon and she wants to go over wedding plans and then take us to lunch. But, maybe the three of us can do lunch sometime soon? When are you heading out?"

Lana's mouth turned down and she looked sour. Lois smiled inwardly. It was obvious that Clark wanted to get rid of her.

"I'm not sure." She brightened a little. "Well, I'm staying in Metropolis. I guess I better head out." She stood up and smiled again at Clark. "I'll call you, Clark."

The screen door slammed behind her and Lois slumped in her chair. Clark put his hands on her shoulders and kneaded at the knots there.

"Lois." She looked up at him and he was looking down on her with such love, that she was immediately comforted.

"I'm so, so sorry." He pulled a chair to sit right next to her and he squeezed her hand.

"It's not your fault." She said with a sigh. "But, why now? Why would she show up now?" She laid her head on his shoulder.

"I'm not sure." He said, running his fingers through her smoky curls. "Maybe she thought I'd still be waiting for her? I don't know. But, something seems off. I'm just not sure. Try not to let her get you down. She'll be out of our lives before you know it." He squeezed her hand and got up to take her dish to the sink.

Lois stood up and walked behind him, wrapping her arms around his waist and resting her cheek against the smooth fabric of his dress shirt.

"I just don't want her to take you away from me." She said into the folds of his shirt.

"Hey." He dropped the plate into the soapy water with a splash and turned around, grasping her wrists in his hands.

Lois, look at me." He clasped her chin and raised her head from her shoes. "I'm with you now. Nothing is going to change that. Lana and I were over years and years ago." He smiled. "Personally, I don't even see what I ever saw in her." He shuddered. "She's kind of squirrelly…"

Lois smiled up at him. "She is, isn't she?" She unwrapped her arms around his neck and pressed her forehead against his. She brushed her lips across his and rested her head on his shoulder.

"Hello, hello!" Lois jumped a food in the air as Martha's voice sounded from the porch.

"Mom!" Clark turned to face the door, but didn't let his fiancée go. She always felt a little awkward showing affection in front of Martha. Maybe it was because she would have never even though of about showing affection in front of the General.

"I brought some bridal magazines for us to look over and a fabric sample book." She dropped a huge pile of magazines and what looked like a giant scrapbook on the kitchen table.

Lois gulped. Clark smiled at her and kissed her again. He slid from between her and the sink and downed his steaming cup of coffee in one swallow.

"Well, I better head over to the Planet. I told Perry I'd come in to go over an article and verify a source. So, I'll leave you ladies to it." He grinned at them both.

"What?" Lois clutched at his arm. "You can't leave! Your input is just as valuable in this!"

"Lois, I know." He pried her arm off of his and walked over and picked up a magazine.

Her jaw dropped as she watched him flip through the magazines and then the fabric book in a matter of minutes.

"I know what I like. When you narrow your choices down, we'll talk." He gave her his best innocent smile.

"Not fair!" Lois howled in frustration and stamped her foot.

"Love you." Clark heard Lois's growl of irritation just as he sped away.

Clark stopped in the parking lot of the Daily Planet and pulled his horn rimmed glasses from his shirt pocket and stuck them on before walking into the building.

Lana watched as Clark sped away from the farmhouse from where her SUV was hidden in the trees.

She was seething. That bitch Lois Lane obviously had some sort of spell over him. There's no way Clark would have treated her that way if not for Lois Lane.

And there was for sure no way _her _Clark would've enjoyed oral sex. Lana shuddered. It was just so gross. Lois had probably been slowly dosing him with Red K and it had permanently altered his state of mind. It had to be that. It was the only logical explanation.

She would have to find a way to break the spell and make Clark go back to the way he used to be. Back to her.

Lana pulled away from the Kent farmhouse, a smile on her face, determined to cure Clark Kent and make him fall in love with her.


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: This is probably going to be my last chapter before the Christmas holidays, but I'm not promising anything. Inspiration comes at the most inopportune times, particularly during exam time, so I may crank out another chapter before then.

Keep up the reviews, they are wonderful affirmations, and I love you all!

* * *

Lois trudged into the Daily Planet building feeling dead on her feat. It had been three days since Lana had shown up, and she hadn't seen hide nor hair of her. There had been an earthquake in Thailand yesterday, and of course Superman had been called to the scene. She had been up all night working on the story and worrying about Clark. When he was away, life didn't feel the same. It was empty without him, and despite the fact he was invincible, that didn't stop her from worrying about him.

Watchtower had lost contact with him at some point in the night, and Lois was praying that he hadn't been exposed to Kryptonite. She wasn't sure if she would be able to work at all.

She stepped into the elevator and into her and Clark's office. She often felt more at home in their office than she did in the farmhouse. It was all wood paneling and blue carpet. It was a place where she could be herself. "Mad Dog Lane" was the nickname that Perry had given her on his first day as editor and it had stuck. On more than one occasion, Clark had told her she "was like a pit bull on a pant leg". It gave her a measure of pride that she was the Daily Planet's best reporter. She'd never been really great at anything until she had gotten into reporting. Lois plopped down at her desk and stared at the empty desk across from her.

Lois dropped her head onto her arms. She had to focus. She had to get this article to Perry so she could get home and wait for Clark.

The day passed pretty uneventfully. She yelled at three interns and Cat Grant, who of course was snooping around to see where Clark was, and then Perry had sent her home.

"Great Caesar's ghost, Lane! Go home! You're of no use to anyone here, especially not me!" He'd slapped more work on top of her desk and sent her home to work.

The drive home felt so long. It seemed to take days instead of the usual three hours, but she arrived at the farmhouse by five o'clock.

"We have got to find a place closer to work." She said under her breath. The farmhouse did feel like home, but it would be nice to be home in fifteen minutes instead of three hours.

She walked into the house and dropped her bag at the table. She felt so tired. She plodded upstairs and collapsed on the bed that she had forgotten to make that morning. She slid between the rumpled sheets and buried her face in Clark's pillow. It still smelled like him. It took a few minutes, but she was soon fast asleep, the scent of his shampoo and cologne lulling her into a deep sleep.

* * *

Suddenly, she felt cold. She sat up and noticed that the window was flung open. It was dark and the room was clouded in shadow.

"Clark?" She looked around the room and noticed a figure slumped in the old armchair Clark had dragged up to their room. It didn't fit with the rest of the décor, but he had insisted on keeping it because it had been his father's.

She slid from the bed and walked over. Superman was hunched in the chair, his face buried in his hands. His suit was in tatters around him and his shoulders were shaking. He was covered in dirt and rubble.

"Clark!" She ran to him and grabbed his chin, forcing him to look at her. Big, fat tears were rolling down his face.

"What happened?" She brushed a tear away from under his eye with her thumb, and he pulled away.

"I couldn't save them, Lois," he choked out.

"What?" She grabbed his head and forced him to look her in the eyes.

"I couldn't save them all. I couldn't get to all of them." He speared his fingers through his hair and began to rock back and forth. Lois sat down on his lap and held his head to her heart and rocked him.

"Clark, no one expects you to…" She started.

"Yes, they do, Lois!" He looked at her incredulously and for a moment, Lois wasn't sure who she was looking at. She had seen him upset before, but he looked like a lost little boy. "They do. I tried so hard to get there in time. I tried so hard. I couldn't get to her in time, to get to them all in time. I held a little girl while she died. I watched the life leave her eyes, and I held her while it happened. Do you have any idea what that's like?" He began to sob again and he gripped her so tightly, she thought he was going to crush her.

"Oh baby." She ran her fingers through his silky black locks. She wasn't sure how long she held him like that, but eventually the bawling stopped and was reduced to some light sniffling.

She pulled away from him and he looked up at her. His eyes were haunted, but she knew that what he needed was time. This had happened before, and each time it had only taken a few days for him to be back to his normal self, but then again-it hadn't been this bad before.

"Come on, Superman, let's get you out of this suit and into the shower. I'll fix dinner and we'll go to bed early." She rubbed her thumb across his cheekbone and he leaned into her touch. He closed his eyes and held her.

"Ok," he sighed. She stood up and tugged him to his feet. They walked into the bathroom and he shucked his suit, allowing the tattered remains to fall to the floor. She started the water until it was almost scalding hot, just the way he liked it.

He climbed into the shower, and she watched as he leaned into the spray, the water running in rivulets down his body, making tracks in the dust and dirt.

Lois snuck out of the bathroom, trotting down the stairs. She wasn't the best of cooks, in fact, Clark was good enough to be a chef, but she could easily boil pasta and heat up some tomato sauce. Hell, she'd even make garlic bread.

Fifteen minutes later, just as the pasta was finishing, she heard footsteps behind her. Clark was coming down the stairs, his boxers riding low on his hips and a towel held to his still damp hair. He smiled at her wanly, and she set his plate down in front of him.

He dug in and together they sat in comfortable silence, devouring their food. They finished and Lois took their plates to the sink and dropped them in. She then walked behind him to knead his shoulders.

Clark leaned into her and sighed. "I'm sorry for the way I acted, Lois. It's just so hard, sometimes. They expect me to save everyone, I _want_ to save everyone."

"Clark, you can't save everyone. You're only one man." She kissed his forehead, and he turned at looked at her ruefully.

"Ok, correction, you're only one person." She smiled at him. "Come on, Superman. Let's get some sleep. I've already called Perry and told him we wouldn't be in tomorrow. We're going to spend all day in bed." She rubbed her hand across his back and he stood up.

Clark slid in between the rumpled sheets and pulled the duvet up to his chin. He watched as Lois slither out of her work clothes and underwear and into one of his old t-shirts. She slid closer to her fiancée and he lifted his arm so she could rest her head on his chest. Clark's eyes drifted closed and soon after, Lois was lulled to sleep by the steady thrum of his heart.

* * *

Clark awoke to a note pinned to Lois's pillow. He sighed. This had happened before. She had most likely gotten a phone call from a source early in the morning and gone out to meet them.

He unpinned the note and scanned it.

_Clark,_

_ Perry called me this morning to meet with a source. I'm so sorry, I know I said we'd stay in bed all day, and I'll try and make it back as soon as possible. I love you. _

_ Lois_

He smiled and stretched out under the duvet and leaned in to the sun. Everything felt infinitely better in the light of day. The gnawing guilt was still eating at the pit of his stomach, but it had definitely lessoned. Every time he failed to save someone, it haunted him. It was one of the downfalls of having a photographic memory. He remembered every single person he didn't save. He always would. If he could die, which he wasn't sure he even could, he would go to his grave with them on his mind.

Breakfast was a silent affair. He sat and ate his cereal at the island in the kitchen, listening as Shelby wolfed down his breakfast. There was something about the farm that was always comforting. The soft mooing of the cows, the wind through the grain, and the smell of fresh mown hay had always had a calming affect on him.

He sighed and slipped into super speed. It took only a few minutes, but soon he was back in the kitchen, clad in his boring charcoal three piece suit, glasses on his face, hair slicked back, ready to start the day as Clark Kent, mild mannered reporter. He didn't want to be this person, but if that was what it took to save people, he would do it.

The Daily Planet building was buzzing with the news of the earthquake and Superman's "heroic saves". Maybe he shouldn't have come in today. All these people knew was that Superman had saved hundreds of lives, but none of them knew the truth about the lives he had failed to save. He swallowed nervously and shoved his glasses further up his nose.

"Clark! Hey!" Cat Grant grabbed his arm and he allowed himself to be pulled over to her desk. He didn't say anything as she continued to ramble on and on about some story she was writing that he didn't care about.

Lois breezed through the bullpen, and as she was leaving, he managed to catch her eye. She walked over to where he stood at Cat's desk, and grabbed his arm.

"Clark! What are you doing here? Why aren't you at home, in bed?" He turned to face her and Cat stood up indignantly.

"Excuse me, Miss Nosy, but Clark and I were just having a conversation that has nothing to do with you. Right Clark?" She grabbed his other arm and he felt that in about two seconds they were going to play tug of war with his arms.

"Ladies, I have to get to work." He extricated himself from their grasp and then grabbed Lois's hand. Cat looked at him longingly, and while he felt bad that she liked him and he couldn't feel the same way, he was also incredibly annoyed. She knew that he was with Lois, and she still tried to get in his pants.

Lois was pulling him into their office. "Clark, you didn't have to come in. Why are you here?"

"Lois. I'm fine." He smiled at her. She looked at him unbelievingly. "Seriously."

"Are you sure?" She placed her hand upon his forearm and he nodded. "Ok. A tip just came in on Bruno Manheim, so I have to go. But, it should only take about an hour, and then we'll have lunch, ok?"

"Sure. I have a story to finish. Do you want me to make reservations?" He plopped down at his computer and loosened his tie.

Lois shrugged. "I don't care. I could go for Chinese. Oh! Or we could go to that little café we went to last time." She grinned at him.

"Ok." He spun towards her in his chair.

She started walking away, but stopped at the door, turning to look at him.

"Are you sure you're ok, Clark? You were pretty torn up last night…"

He gulped noisily. "I'd rather not talk about it, Lois. It's over and done with. I can't change it." He sighed.

"Alright. I'll see you soon." She smiled and left the room.

One of the reasons Clark loved being a reporter, was because it was so easy to get engrossed in the story. It felt like minutes after Lois had left that he was glancing down at the clock, noticing that two hours had passed. He frowned in worry, and pulled out his cell phone, quickly dialing Lois's number.

"Clark? What's wrong?" It rang twice before her worried voice filled his ear.

"Nothing, I was just worried. You said an hour and it's been two. Are you ok?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. I'm just meeting with my source now. This office is a bureaucratic nightmare. I'll call you when I'm leaving."

"Alright, see you soon. Love you."

"I love you, too." The snap of her phone ended their call and he smiled.

There was a knock on his door and he spun his chair. He sighed. "Lana. How are you?"


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: Thank you all for your wonderful reviews. Please keep them up, I live off of them, and they make me feel all warm and fuzzy inside

I imagine this story will be novella length, but I might be wrong. Sometimes it feels like the story is writing itself.

I'm also in the market for a beta, because I'm aware that I make some spelling mistakes, despite the fact that I try to check and double check it. Thank you all!

* * *

Lana left the Kent farmhouse and was soon walking into the Isis Foundation, easily bypassing the security codes. The idiotic Justice League hadn't changed any of them. The building was abandoned. Sheets covered the computers and the couches. A thin layer of dust covered the sheets, and she coughed when she whipped one of them off of the center console.

It took only a few seconds to debug the computers, so that her research wouldn't be sent to Watchtower. She knew that she would have to have someone in to check for hidden cameras and microphones and the like, which meant her research would be put off by a day at least, but she could wait. In the mean time, she could be gauging how sick Clark really was, and if she could cure him by any other means. If not, she would proceed as planned.

* * *

Clark sat at the window seat of the Starbucks down the road from the Daily Planet. Lana sat across from him, and it was almost easy to believe that they were still in high school. She looked exactly the same, but he knew that there was something dark lurking beneath her perfectly tanned skin. He had known it since she had kept Lionel captive. Where had she gone astray? Was it when she was married to Lex, or had he helped create this person sitting in front of him? The same way he knew he had had a hand in creating the person who Lex now was.

He looked down at himself and wondered if Lana saw the same gawky bumbling boy that hadn't been able to come near her without being sick in high school. He was sure she didn't. He was no longer that awkward teenager, but a man, despite the fact that he played the clumsy reporter.

When he looked at her, he saw the perfect cheerleader smiling down at him asking him, "What are you Clark, man or superman?"

Perhaps she had changed. She insisted that she was helping Bruce in Gotham, but Bruce was a member of the Justice League, and he had never mentioned the name Lana Lang. Then again, he tried to avoid the Bat as often as possible. Just the way he knew there was something lurking beneath Bruce, just as there was something dark underneath Lana's surface. But with Batman, he knew that his darkness was being used to help Gotham City, not harm.

"So when's the wedding?" She was doing that thing again, where she leaned forward and pushed her boobs up. She probably thought it was sexy. She had no idea how irritating that was. He forced himself to take a deep breath and paste a smile on his face. _Think of Lois_. He thought of what Lois would do if she were here and had a hard time preventing the smile from flashing across his face.

"We're not sure yet. Lois wants a winter wedding, so we're thinking November. Lois was raised Catholic, so her father wants a Mass, which means six months of marriage prep, so…" He shrugged.

Lana scrunched up her nose. "I didn't know Lois was Catholic. How does your mom feel about this?"

"She's fine with it. I mean, we went to church every Sunday, but it's not like we were super committed to it or anything, so if it's what Lois wants then I'm ok with whatever." He took a drag off of his coffee. He was almost down to the bottom, and he wondered how long he'd have to make nice before he could find some excuse to go back to the office.

Lana reached out and laid her hand on top of his. He almost jumped in surprise. "Clark. I'm really glad that I'm back in town. I've missed you." She smiled shyly, and he wondered what she was up to.

"I've missed you too, Lana." He said it with as much sincerity as he could, but truth be told, he hadn't missed her at all. He'd been too busy.

"Listen, I better get going. I told Lois I'd meet her for lunch and I still have that story to finish. I'll talk to you later." He stood up, tossing his coffee cup into a nearby trashcan as he walked out of the glass door.

Lana's eyes narrowed. He was much sicker than she realized.

* * *

Lois was pacing her and Clark's office nervously. The article he had been working on had been left up on the computer, his jacket was still slung over the back of his chair, but he was missing. What if someone had used kryptonite on him?

"Oh, God." She plopped down into her chair across from his and buried her face in her hands.

"No, just Clark will be fine." He strolled through the door, grinning at her, and it took all of her strength not to grab him by his lapels and shake him.

"Clark!" She stood up and ran to him, and he wrapped her in his warm embrace.

"Whoa, what's this?" He said, surprised.

"I don't know, I just got worried when you weren't here." She pulled back to look into his sea green eyes and they were crinkled around the corners-always a good sign.

"Lana showed up. She wouldn't leave me alone, so I got coffee with her." He untangled his arms from around her and she frowned slightly.

"Well, what happened?" Lois sat down in her office chair again, and he sat across from her.

"Nothing really, she asked when the wedding was and told me she missed me. Oh, and she yammered on for a good half hour about all the good she's been doing with Bruce in Gotham. Remind me to ask the Bat about that. Have you ever heard him mention her?"

"Nope. So did she mention when she'd be going back to Gotham?" She tapped at her keyboard tetchily.

Clark sighed. "No." He paused. "Are you mad?"

"No, Clark, I am not mad. I just wish she'd go back to Gotham. There's something about her that isn't sitting right with me."

"I know what you mean." He looked at her over his glasses. "She just doesn't seem like the Lana we used to know."

"I know, right?" Lois stood up, a stack of papers in her hand and walked around to plop them in front of her fiancée. "Look at this. These are articles from the _Gotham Gazette_ and they mention a mysterious person besides the Bat saving people. So, I think her story has at least some validity. Also, I was thinking about her early today, so I did some research. Do you know the statistics of the number of people who are meteor infected that have gone insane?"

"Uh, a lot?" He raised his eyebrows, clearly wondering what this had to do with anything.

"Eighty percent." She tossed the research onto his desk and he eyed it. "Eighty percent, Clark! So here's my theory. People become meteor infected just by touching kryptonite once, so what would happen to a person who had kryptonite laying against her skin for the better part of three years?"

Clark looked at her, his eyes wide as saucers. "You think she's meteor infected and that she's gone insane?"

Lois exhaled noisily. "You think _I'm _insane, don't you?"

"No, not at all. I'm just not sure that's it." He looked at the papers again. "Do you mind if I hold on to these?"

"Sure." She stalked back over to her desk and plopped down. "Are you almost done? I'm hungry, and Perry said we could head home when you turned your story in."

Clark smiled mischievously at her and began typing so fast that his fingers were just a blur. She grinned and watched as he stopped and hit the submit button.

"All done." He stood and stretched, grabbing his jacket off of the back of his chair and putting it on. He fixed his tie, and Lois watched as her Clark transformed into "Clark Kent-mild mannered reporter".

"How do I look?" He slouched a little, and he seemed to shrink several inches.

"Great." She grabbed his hand and pulled him out of the door.

Sometimes, it was hard dealing with the mask that Clark had to put on in front of the office. Like now, when even though she was leading him straight through the path of people, he chose to bump into every single person.

"Sorry. I'm so sorry." He steadily mumbled under his breath and it was accompanied by the sighs of people who knew Clark and his clumsiness.

They entered the elevator and Lois hit the button for the top floor.

"Lois, aren't we going home?" He had straightened a little and was looking at her, confused.

"Yep. Superman is going to take me home. I need to have lunch with my fiancée and to curl up on our couch with a movie and then go to bed as soon as possible." She leaned in close and brushed a kiss over his lips and he shuddered.

The bell in the elevator pinged, and they sprang apart as the doors slid open. Together, they walked up the stairs to the roof of the Daily Planet.

Lois dropped his arm and watched as he spun in a tight circle, her fiancée quickly being replaced by the Man of Steel. She wasn't sure how he always managed to look exactly the same as Superman, or how he got that weird little curl to lay perfectly on his forehead, but every time he did it, she was amazed.

Superman scooped her up and in a few seconds, was depositing her at the door to the farm. With a quick spin, Superman had turned back into her fiancée.

Clark was grinning up at her from down the stairs that led to the porch, when the screen door squeaked behind Lois.

Martha Kent stepped onto the porch, holding a tray of still steaming blueberry muffins. Lois's mouth watered at the scent-cinnamon and blueberries. Nothing compared. Except, maybe, Mrs. Kent's pies.

"Martha, please tell me those are for us." Lois stepped towards her, arms outstretched, ready to take the tray.

"Of course, Lois dear," Martha said, a playing across her lips. "Come inside and sit. We'll dig in and talk."

Clark looked concernedly at Lois. Everything seemed to be going great, well, for the most part. He wondered what his mother would want to talk to them about.

They gathered around the dining room table, and Clark was struck by how much the three of them together reminded him of a family. Hell, they were a family. But mostly it reminded him of the times in high school, whenever he was having a problem with Lex or with one of the meteor infected and he, his mother and father, would all sit around the table.

He'd been thinking about his dad a lot lately. He no longer felt the pressing guilt he had once felt over his father's death. His father had made his choice, but no matter how much he believed that, it still killed a small piece of him, every day, to live without Jonathon Kent. He loved his mom, but there was something about Jonathon's warm comforting presence, and how he always seemed to know how to solve all of the world's, and Clark's problems, that he yearned for.

Clark spread his hands on the warm wood of the dining room table and looked at his mother and fiancée. Nothing would ever feel as much like home as this. Lois was already digging into a muffin and his mother was watching him, her expression unreadable.

He reached for a muffin and bit into the pastry, the warmth of the cinnamon and blueberries exploding on his tongue. He swallowed roughly, then said, "There was something you wanted to talk to us about, Mom?"

Martha had been worrying her bottom lip between her teeth, but now she stopped and looked up at him, looking like a deer caught in the headlights. She cleared her throat.

"Yes." She was picking at pieces of a muffin without eating it, and Clark was worried. It wasn't like his mother to not be able to say what was on her mind.

"What is it, Mom? You can tell me." He reached his hand out and placed it on top of hers, and she stopped and smiled at him.

"Sometimes I forget how much like Jonathon you are." She grasped his hand and he smiled encouragingly. Martha Kent took a deep breath.

"I'm selling the farm."


	7. Chapter 7

A/N: My muse comes to me at the most inopportune times. Also, have I mentioned that I don't own any of these characters, and therefore have no claim over them? Enjoy! I'm hoping to work on the next chapter a little over Thanksgiving, so there will probably be another chapter up before Christmas. Thank you all for the reviews, keep them coming!

* * *

"What?" Clark reeled back in his chair, drawing his hand back. Both his mother and Lois were looking at him, expressions of concern written on their faces.

"Clark, just listen to me." His mother reached out for him, but he folded his arms across his chest, closing himself completely off, and she eventually let her arm drop by her side.

"It's just not ideal. With me living full time in D.C. and you and Lois working full time in Metropolis, we don't _need_ the farm like we used to."

"Need? What about want?" He stood up and was now pacing the floor across from the table.

"Maybe I should go…" Lois was grabbing her muffin wrapper and Martha put her hand on the other woman's forearm and Lois lowered herself back into her chair.

"No, Lois. Stay. You are just as much a part of this family as Clark or I."

"What about what I want, did you consider that?" He stopped across from his mother, a pained expression on his face, and Martha was reminded of when he was a little boy.

"Clark, I'm going to be honest with you here. It's foolish to keep a farm in our family that no one is working. It's costing us more money to keep it running than it's worth. With you and Lois working in the city, and you spending most of your time there anyway with your Justice League duties, you're just going out of your way anyway. Also, with the money we make from selling the house, you and Lois can afford to find a nice apartment in Metropolis, and pay for the wedding of your dreams." Martha sighed. "It's what's best, Clark."

Lois was worried. She'd only seen Clark cry a handful of times, and particularly since he had had such a bad day yesterday, he wasn't sure if his psyche could handle another traumatizing experience. He looked like he was about to cry right now.

"But…Dad?" He sank into his chair, still staring at his mother in disbelief.

"Clark, your father loved this farm, but he loved his family more. He would want us to be happy. And honestly Clark, this farm hasn't felt like home in awhile. Not since Dad died."

Suddenly, Clark didn't see his mother sitting across from him. This was not the woman that raised him. This was Martha Kent, senator. When had she stopped being his mother, and become this logical political figure sitting across from him?

"So where is home?" He looked around the trappings of house and home, and they had suddenly lost all their color and warmth.

"Home is wherever we are, baby." She stretched her hand out to him again, and this time he took it.

Clark nodded and looked at Lois. She smiled wanly at him, and reached her hand out to him, and he grasped it. It was then that he noticed they were a complete circle around the table. Martha was gripping Lois's hand tightly.

"Clark." Lois let go of Martha's hand and put both hands on top of his. "When Martha first mentioned this to me, I was skeptical too, but I think it's really for the best."

"You knew about this?" Once again, Clark was up from the table. Now, he was staring at Lois in disbelief.

Lois gulped. "She only just called me this morning…"

"I can't believe this!" Clark threw his hands up into his hair and began pacing again.

She hadn't meant to tell him that she had known. It wasn't like she had kept it from him. Martha had asked her to let her tell her son, and Lois had reluctantly agreed.

"Clark." Lois stood and walked up to him cautiously. She flinched as he took a step back.

"Don't, Lois. I need some time alone." With a _woosh_, he was gone.

"Crap."

* * *

Clark sat down cross legged at his father's tombstone. He rested his hand on the top. The sun had warmed the stone. He wanted to lay down on the grass and let his bones seep into the earth.

"I wish I knew what to do, Dad. I wish you were here. I miss you so much." He put a hand to his eyes, trying to fight the tears that were coming. "You always had the answers. I don't think you would want Mom to sell the farm, but I know that you'd want what was best for us."

Maybe if he stared at the headstone long enough it would talk back.

"Clark?" He felt a small hand rest on his shoulder and he whipped around.

"Lana. Hey." He did not feel like doing anything less than talking to Lana. She sat down next to him.

"Do you come out here often to talk to your dad?" She rested her elbows on her knees and rested her chin on her hands.

"Sometimes." He shrugged.

"The first thing I did when I got back in town was see my mom and dad." She nodded over to where the Langs rested.

Clark looked at her, really looked at her, and for a minute, it was like he was talking to his high school sweetheart.

"Do they ever talk back to you?" He smiled at her and she smiled back.

"Sometimes. It's more like they listen when I need it."

"I wish he were still here. I wish he were here to see me get married and have children with Lois. I miss him so much." He buried his head in his hands again.

He didn't notice Lana stiffen when he mentioned Lois's name. She began rummaging in her messenger bag.

Suddenly, pain ripped through his entire body. He fell backwards, looking at the petite brunette.

She held a small box, and kryptonite glowed from within it.

"Lana. Why?"

"I'm so sorry, Clark. It's the only way." She placed the kryptonite on his chest, and the last thing he saw before he passed out was Lana uncoiling a length of rope from within her bag.


	8. Chapter 8

A/N: This fic is rated M for a reason. There will be more smut, blood, violence and rape. If this offends you, don't read it.

On a brighter note, thanks for all the reviews! Keep them up! I like to know what you guys think!

* * *

Clark awoke in excruciating pain. He was in a small room. Everything was white and steel. His arms were tied together behind him. He was kneeling on the floor and his wrists were resting higher than his shoulders on a table. It felt like his arms were going to be ripped out of their sockets. He groaned and fell forward, landing on his face. He turned his head to see what was holding him.

A pair of average looking steel handcuffs was wrapped around his wrists. The only difference was that these were streaked with green.

Lights were on, but they were dimmed. He sat up and looked around the room. The walls were steel and there was a large door directly across from him. A mattress with one pillow and a thin blanket lay in one corner, and in the other were a toilet and a shower spout. The steel table was in the center of the room and two chairs were pushed around it. He was clad in a pair of black sweatpants that were slung loose around his hips.

He cleared his throat. He felt like he was on fire. "Hello?" His voice sounded hoarse in the otherwise completely silent room.

Clark closed his eyes, focusing completely on remembering how he had gotten to this small sterile room. The last thing he remembered was talking to Lana in the graveyard. His eyes flew open.

"If you've taken Lana Lang as well, you'll be sorry. She works with Batman. He doesn't take lightly his people being kidnapped." He got to his feet as best as he could in order to look around the room again. A mirror hung next to the window, something he hadn't noticed before. He suspected it was really a window, like those that were in investigation rooms in police stations. His heart contracted. Had he been taken by the government? Was this a government lab? Panic rose within him.

"Look, all you have to do is contact Oliver Queen. He'll pay you whatever you want." He walked over to the mirror and looked right into it. "You don't have to keep me here. Please." He felt like crying.

"I just want to go home. Please." He rattled his cuffs. He felt nauseous and his head was pounding.

Clark got to his feet unsteadily. He walked over to the window and pounded on it with his shoulder.

"I know you're in there. You have to let me go. I'll do anything. Please." Silence met his pleas and he sighed and stumbled over to the mattress and collapsed upon it. He was surprised at the smoothness and fresh scent of the pillowcase. He closed his eyes, willing the pain to go away. He took several deep, steadying breaths, and that helped a bit.

It wasn't until a little later when he noticed that the pillowcase was soaked with his tears.

* * *

Lois paced the Kent kitchen, her cell phone pressed to her ear.

"Lois, I will let you know if I hear anything. He's only been missing for 72 hours." Oliver Queen's voice attempted to soothe her, but she couldn't be comforted. Her fiancée was missing for Christ's sake.

"Oliver, my fiancée is missing for Christ's sake. You can't just expect me to sit around and wait. I won't do it. If you won't look for him, I'll get Bart to do it." She snapped her phone shut and began to pace again.

"Lois, I'm sure Clark is fine." Martha Kent looked outwardly calm as she took a sip of coffee, but inwardly, her stomach was roiling. It wasn't like Clark to disappear without a call, but then again, he had been very angry.

Lois gnawed on a cuticle, a bad habit she was trying to break. The first day he had been gone, she assumed he had heard someone that needed to be saved. The second day, she assumed he was sulking up at the fortress, but now, she didn't know what to think.

Lois looked at Martha, her eyebrows raised. She flipped open her phone and dialed Bart's number.

"Bart, it's Lois." She barked into the phone.

A second later, Bart Allen stood in front of her. "Hey babe. I hear your super boyfriend is MIA, looking for someone to help keep you warm tonight?" He grinned salaciously at her.

Martha cleared her throat.

"Oh, hey, Mrs. K." His grinned this time was sheepish, and he rubbed the back of his head nervously.

"Bart." Lois grabbed his elbow and pulled him to face her. "I need you to try and find Clark."

"Whoa there." He took his elbow back. "I thought you already told Green Arrow about this?"

"I did. Oliver just said he'd listen for any news. Can you believe him? Superman is missing, and he doesn't have his best men on it?" Lois plopped down in a chair next to Martha.

Bart moved to sit across from them and nodded his head. "Any suspicions?"

Lois sighed. "I don't know. Lex, of course. I don't know, something tells me that Lana is behind this."

"The ex Mrs. Luthor?" Bart raised his brows, surprised.

"Yeah, she's back in town and pushy as ever. She's been to see Clark twice." Lois winced.

"Ok, well I'll get Watchtower searching cyberspace and I'll get on real space. We'll find your errant fiancée in no time." He smiled at her reassuringly, and Lois nodded.

"Thanks, Bart. I owe you."

"No prob, bob." Then, he disappeared.

* * *

Clark awoke, groggy and still in pain. Something had changed about the room. It was no longer dimly lit, but fluorescent light blubs had been flipped on. They glowed a bright sickly green. His hands had been freed in his sleep. He sat up, and immediately lay back down again. He had a feeling that the lights contained kryptonite. There'd be no way he could stand in this room. Just getting close to those lights would probably kill him in an instant.

He had only been sick a handful of times in his entire life, but he assumed that this is what having the flu felt like; dizzy, muscle aches, feverish. He shivered and wrapped the thin blanket around his frame.

"Hello?" He called out again into emptiness. How long had he been in this room? It felt like decades, centuries, even though he was sure it had only been a day.

Clark was just about to give up and lay back down on the mattress, when the door squeaked open and hit the wall with a clang.

Lana Lang stood in the doorway, dressed in a short, skintight black dress and impossibly high heels.

"Lana! Thank God." He slid off the mattress and into a kneeling position. She had a smile on her face, which was comforting. "Did they take you too?"

"They?" She blinked back at him innocently, before tittering behind her hand. "There's no one here but you and me, Clark. Well, and a few doctors." She kneeled down in front of him, and he flinched away from her.

"_You're_ doing this to me?"

"Clark." She placed a cool hand on his feverish cheek. It was hard not to lean into her touch, it was just so comforting and cooling. "I'm not doing anything to you. I'm doing this for you."

"What do you mean?" He felt like crying. This was all so surreal. How could this be happening?

"I saw you." She pulled her hand away, and he noticed that she was flushed. Whether in anger or embarrassment, he couldn't tell.

"Saw me? Saw me doing what?" He was baffled.

She swallowed, and looked him in the eyes. Once upon a time, he could have gotten lost in those eyes. Now, he didn't know what was behind them.

"I saw you and Lois. Together. The night you got engaged." She was bright red now, and he probably would have been the same if it weren't for the kryptonite lights that were bearing down on him.

"Oh." He shrugged. "Is that what this is? You're jealous, so you're going to keep me hostage?"

"No!" She looked offended. "I'm honestly worried for your safety, Clark! It's obvious that you've been poisoned. I have reason to believe that you've been slowly being dosed with red K."

Lana placed a hand on his cheek again and it was so similar to the way Lois comforted him that he caught himself leaning into the touch.

She smiled gently at him, and for a moment she wasn't the crazy that was keeping him hostage, but the girl next door that he had fallen in love with.

"Lana." He name was ripped from his throat, and he pulled away. "You have to let me out of here."

Her hand drew back from his cheek and she was cold again. "No, Clark. I've had my eye on you. You're sick." She stood and began to walk away.

"What do you mean you've had your eye on me? You've been _watching_ me?" He was shocked.

She turned to look at him again and he was struck by the menacing figure she cut. She was, in a word, Luthorian.

"Oh yes. For at least a month now. I knew you were with Lois Lane, but I also knew that when I returned, you'd come running back to me. You're sicker than I thought." She smiled devilishly at him.

"Have you bugged my house?" He felt like he was going to throw up.

"Unfortunately, no. If I had known what was going on there, I would come and gotten you much sooner. I've only been able to watch your office." She turned again to walk out.

"Lana!" She opened the door and ignored his cries. "You have to let me out of here! Please!"

She turned to him again. "No, Clark. Not until you're better." With that, she stepped out of the steel door, and it slammed shut, leaving him alone under the kryptonite lights.


	9. Chapter 9

A/N: Well, I know I said it would be until the holidays when I would see you all again, but I only have two more weeks of school left, probably less by the time I post this, so here it is!

Warning: The story is getting more graphic! There will be lemons, rape, drugs, and people being held against their will. I'm also not really sure where this chapter came from. It's kind of a mix of an episode of Law and Order: SVU and A Time to Kill. If this offends you, do not read. If it doesn't offend you, then enjoy!

* * *

Clark stood under the steady spray of the shower, his back to the window where Lana was probably watching him. He leaned against the wall and tilted his head back, gulping down the water greedily. He didn't care that his sweat pants had been taken away from him, currently his only possession in the world. All that mattered was the water.

He had been there two weeks, by his guess, and he had had one meal, that had consisted of poorly made rice with a pat of butter on top. It had been set on the floor next to the mattress, and it was around this time that he noticed the kryptonite lights had been extinguished. His entire body had tensed, and he'd been flooded with a sense of hope, that was until he noticed the blue kryptonite strapped to his wrist. He had desperately tried to squeeze his hand out of it, but it was impossible. So, every day, he walked over to the shower, turned it on, and allowed the cold water to run over his body until he was shivering.

The water was icy cold, no matter how far he turned the knob, and it was sharp, hard, and tasted like it came from a well. He had been left alone, for the most part, until this morning, when a doctor had entered, flanked by two hulking orderlies. Hot tears streamed down his face as he remembered what he had endured.

They had pinned him down, face down, ignoring his cries, and he was too feeble to fight back. The resulting enema had left his stomach cramping as he rushed to the toilet. He was humiliated, although he was sure that the enema would be the least of his worries. He just worried what else was in store for him.

* * *

Lana tapped her foot angrily against a chair, as Doctor Levine, the doctor that she had hired.

"You are supposed to be getting results. Why hasn't he been cured yet?" She leaned forward, narrowing her eyes.

"Miss Lang, I'm not sure what to tell you. The blood sample we took shows no abnormalities, besides the fact that it is obviously not human." He looked excited at this last bit.

"I beg you to remember Doctor, that I hold critical information about you and a certain Luthor's experiments with cloning. You wouldn't want that released to the media, would you?" She said it nonchalantly, but it left him stiffening in anger and nervousness.

"Of course not. I'm just not sure what to say. If he does have some sort of poison in him, the best course of action would be to expel all bodily fluids and hope that gets rid of it. If it doesn't, the only other thing I can suggest is an autopsy." He shrugged, since she obviously wasn't going to choose this path.

However, she leaned forward excitedly. "Ok, so we give him an enema. Then what?"

Doctor Levine drew back. He was a little scared of this crazed woman that sat in front of him, but anything would be better than an autopsy.

"Then ipecac, followed by a heavy dose of diuretic." He said.

"What about his blood?" She asked.

"The best way to cleanse the blood is by fasting, which we've already been doing." He was a little nervous at where this conversation was leading.

"What about his semen?" This seemed to be the part that she was most excited about. He wasn't sure he had ever seen her this excited. Her face was flushed and she was leaning eagerly towards him.

"I highly doubt…"He began to say, before she banged the steel table next to her so hard, that it left dents in the surface.

"I have reason to believe that someone has been poisoning him, and you aren't willing to do whatever is possible to save him?" She shrieked, and he cringed back.

"Of course, Miss Lang. Whatever you say." He was shaking.

"Good." She smoothed out her hair, before reaching in her pocket and placing a small vial on the table.

"After the enema, the ipecac and the diuretic, give him this."

Levine started to protest, but was silenced by one of her looks.

"Do as I say, Doctor. Or else." She turned and walked out of the room.

* * *

Clark collapsed on the mattress, shivering from the cold. He wasn't sure where his pants had gotten to, someone must have slipped in while he was showing and taken them. He pulled the thin blanket that he was allowed up to his chin, which exposed his legs from foot to knee. He curled under it, allowing it to cover him up as much as possible. It wasn't long before the steel door creaked open.

He peeked up, and noticed Lana coming towards him, holding a cup. He shied away from her, sitting up and as close to the wall as he could, as she approached the side of the mattress. Once again she kneeled beside the mattress, and gazed at him lovingly.

"Clark, here." She held both hands out to him, one was cupped and obviously cradling something, and the other was clutching the cup.

He stared at her hands like she was clutching a snake. "What is it?" He snarled.

Lana sighed. "It's a cup of fruit punch and a multivitamin." She put both hands out to him, and he saw that she really did have a cup of average looking fruit punch and a multivitamin. He still didn't trust it.

"Why should I trust you?" He spit at her.

She sighed again. "Because. I feel awful. I'm sorry for the way you've been treated. You're going to start getting regular meals and actual clothes, I promise." She seemed filled with remorse, but he couldn't help feeling that if she was really sorry, she'd let him go, and he told her such.

"Clark, I can't let you go until I know that you're perfectly safe. You protected me for so many years, let me protect you. Please." She held the pill and the cup out to him again, and he looked at it.

It did look delicious. All he'd had was water the last few days, and the fruit punch looked cold and red and probably tasted like childhood. Condensation dripped down the cup and onto Lana's tan fingers.

He licked his lips and nodded, holding out his hand. She dropped the giant white pill into his hand, and he tossed it into his mouth before grabbing the cup she held and greedily drinking it all down. It was sweet, sweeter than usual, and when it hit his stomach, it turned. He bit back the bile that was rising in his throat. Lana smiled innocently at him, and his eyes grew wide.

Clark opened his mouth, but he clamped his lips shut, and ran for the toilet.

Red fluid and the pill poured out of him as he vomited up the contents of his stomach. He gagged as all the water he had drank earlier rose up and out of him, even coming out of his nose.

Everything was out of him, but he continued to dry heave. Lana sat down next to him and rubbed his back, but he slid away from her.

"What did you give me?" He asked wearily.

"Ipecac. It had to be done, Clark. We need to get all of the poison out of you." She said gravely, staring at him with her wide brown eyes.

"I don't know how many times I have to tell you that I'm not poisoned." He said tiredly, sliding back towards the shower. Her eyes trailed down his body, and he realized that he was completely exposed. His hands went to the junction of his thighs to cover himself and she smiled.

"You are, Clark. You just don't know it." She stood, smoothing out the bubble gum pink dress she was wearing, and turned to check her hair in the window.

"I'll be back later. Try and get some rest, will you dear?" She said this to her reflection, and he snorted. She ignored him and walked out of the room, leaving him naked and alone.

* * *

Lois's phone trilled from within her pocket. She was sitting at the desk that Clark had set up in the alcove that was in the upper hallway. She had pulled all of the strings she could think of. Luthor Corp had a host of suspicious companies, but none were hiding a place that could do research on Superman. She'd also searched Lana Lang, and the name was suspiciously absent from cyberspace.

The phone rang again, and she reached into her pocket angrily. She didn't have time to talk right now. Chloe had been searching and hadn't been able to find anything either. Bart had come up with nothing as well, so Lois had taken a leave of absence at the Planet, and devoted her time to finding her ersatz fiancée.

She looked down at her phone and it read "Chloe". She flipped it open and pressed it eagerly to her ear.

"Cos. What's up? Have you found anything?"

"Well, I was sitting here thinking. I think Lana might have rented someplace under a pseudonym. That is, if we've ruled out Luthor."

"Which we have." Lois said irritably.

"Ok, so I've done searches for several different names that are related to Lana, and I've come up with a few suspicious hits."

"Ok, lay them on me." Lois pulled out a piece of scrap paper and a pen.

"There's a warehouse in Edge City rented out to her Aunt Nell, and a building located down the street from said warehouse to an Alan Glan."

"Alan Glan?" Lois said, surprised.

"I typed in a bunch of acronyms for Lana Lang." Chloe said sheepishly.

"Good. Ok, let's go and investigate." Lois pushed her chair back, and started walking down the stairs, grabbing her coat.

"Lois, we can't just bust in and take Clark back. First of all, he could be in either place, or in neither. Also, I think you're forgetting about the Prometheus Suit. She has all of Clark's powers, and none of his weaknesses."

Lois sagged, deflated. "Have you told Ollie about your suspicions?"

"I have. Cyborg, Impulse, Green Arrow and Batman are hitting the first place tomorrow morning and the other tomorrow night."

"I'm coming with them!" Lois practically shouted into the phone.

"Lois, it's dangerous. You don't have any superpowers, you could be killed." Chloe said, knowing that she was fighting a losing battle.

"Are they all at Watchtower?" Lois demanded.

Chloe sighed. "Yes, they're all here, they're just waiting on the Bat."

"I'm on my way." Lois shut her phone with a determined snap, and was soon on her way to Metropolis.

* * *

Clark awoke to his hands tied tightly above his head. The rope was attached to a metal hook that he hasn't noticed was attached to the wall above the mattress. After Lana had left, he'd been subjected to more medication that made him have to pee like a racehorse. He felt completely dehydrated. He wasn't even sure he could move. He hoped to God that the IV was just hydrating him. He was feeling incredibly paranoid. He felt that something worse was coming, but he wasn't sure what.

It felt like the walls were closing in on him. He'd been in the same room for too long. He swallowed nervously. A panic attack was rising within him. He sat up as much as he could, until he was half sitting, and his hands rested on his forehead. He closed his eyes and began to rock back and forth slightly.

Once again, the door swung open. He didn't bother to look up, but continued to rock back and forth. He closed his eyes, and in his mind he was back at home. It was a few months ago, and he and Lois had just gotten off work and were snuggling on the couch. He'd made them a simple dinner and Lois had passed out against his shoulder. Tears were running down his cheeks. He felt so broken and tired.

Lana's face appeared in front of him, and he flinched.

"Clark." She placed her tiny hand on his shoulder, and he snarled. She quickly pulled her hand back and cleared her throat.

"Clark. Please." He noticed that she was crying now, and he just stared at the tears that were leaking out of the corners of her eyes.

"I'm doing this for you, Clark. I love you so much." Her hand went to her face, and he just continued to stare at her.

"You don't." He stated.

"What?" She looked up at him, and noticed his cold stare.

"You don't love me. If you really loved me, you'd let me go."

It looked like Lana was really seeing him for the first time, and she didn't like what she was seeing.

"I'm trying to save you, Clark."

"You aren't!" It burst forth from him with such vehemence that he surprised himself. "You're trying to keep me here so I'm at you're complete disposal. That's not love, Lana! That's what Lex did to you."

Lana stiffened. "I don't expect you to believe me. But I really do love you, Clark." She rested a hand on his chest, and he flinched at her touch.

She stood, and the door opened again. The doctor that had given him the enema walked in, and he strained against his bonds.

"Please, you have to let me go! You can't keep me here! What about the Hippocratic oath?" The doctor ignored him, and pulled a syringe and a vial from his coat pocket, and without a word, injected it into his IV line, then walked silently out of the room.

"There. That should make you feel better." Lana smiled at him, and he thought he detected a hint of lecherousness in her look.

The medicine hit his veins and it had a strange effect on him. His muscles relaxed, and he could barely move. He sighed as he found he was able to move his head. At least he had some movement.

He could feel all of the blood rushing to his crotch. He lifted his head slightly, and noticed that he was completely erect.

"What did you give me?" He croaked.

"Just a little something to help you relax." She grinned at him again, and this time, it was definitely lecherously. She stared down at his straining erection.

"Lana…you can't. Don't." His eyes were wide.

"Don't worry, Clark. I'm trying to help." She laid down next to him, resting her head on his shoulder and put a hand on his chest. Her skin felt like fire where she touched him, and his hips bucked up against his will.

She looked up at him and smiled. "See, Clark. You do still love me." She whispered and he cringed as her hand trailed lower.

"No, Lana. Stop. Please. I'll do anything you want, just stop." He begged.

"I can't, Clark. Not until I do this." She cupped his erection, and once again, his hips bucked up.

Clark began to cry in earnest. He hated himself. There was a complete disconnect between his body and his mind. He didn't want this, not at all. But, his body was responding to her touch.

"Please." He panted as she began to pump his cock. He wasn't sure what he was begging for, for her to finish quickly, or to stop. He was fighting it as hard as he could. He was stronger than whatever she had given him, he had to be.

Clark began reciting the Declaration of Independence in his head, anything to take his mind off of what was happening.

Lana snarled in frustration. He was still hard, but he appeared to be wilting slightly. When she had started, it had been hard and red, the head purpled and weeping. It was still red and straining, but there was no pre come coming out of the slit. His head was turned and his lips were moving. She slapped his penis roughly and he winced, not looking at her. She stopped what she was doing, and dug her nails into his thigh until he looked at her.

"Just give in, Clark." She said smoothly, cupping him again. "You know you want to." She was shocked that he had lasted this long. The dosage she had given him would make a normal man ejaculate almost as soon as he was touched.

He shook his head and closed his eyes, his lips moving again, and she hissed.

"I can't believe you would be this selfish." She pulled her hand away and stood.

Clark followed her with his eyes as she walked to the door, and knocked twice on it. The two orderlies came in, flanked by the doctor. They openly stared at him and his heavy erection, and he turned to close his eyes. He bit down on his lip and his mouth flooded with the acrid coppery taste of his blood.

"Clark." He opened his eyes, and saw Lana staring at him coldly. "They're going to perform a procedure on you now. This is what happens when you don't obey me." She said it so nonchalantly, that Clark knew she saw him as a pet dog. The doctor had what looked like a car battery with a handle. Attached to it was a wire that had what looked like the vibrator he had once found in Lois's bedside table.

"What are you going to do to me?" His voice cracked, but everyone's faces remained passive. The orderlies untied him, and he attempted to struggle, but the medicine still had a hold of him. They flipped him over, and tied his hands behind his back.

As Clark lay on the mattress, his arms painfully ripped back, he realized what they were going to do to him, and began to cry.

"Please, don't do this. Please." A pair of gloved hands spread his legs, and he felt something nudge at his ass. It was cold, and he began to shake.

Someone, he assumed it was the doctor, shoved it inside of him, and he screamed. His cock was pressed against the mattress painfully, and he heard rustling. Suddenly, he was filled with pain. It was like he was being electrocuted from the inside out. It lasted only two seconds, but to him, it seemed like two years. He was panting in agony.

He heard the doctor mutter something, and felt him reposition the probe. It struck him as ironic that so many humans worried about alien probing, and here it was, happening in real life-just the other way around.

Clark felt the probe hit his prostrate and he gasped. The doctor pulled away again, and the machine hummed slightly before it shocked him. Stars shot behind his eyes, a streak of white lightning that ripped through the blackness behind his closed lids. He came messily, all over the mattress, and within seconds, passed out.

He didn't feel the machine being removed from him, but he did feel the bucket of cold water that Lana upended over him. He awoke, spluttering, staring at her. His hands had been untied, the rope had left deep grooves in his wrists. Blood ran down into his hands and spread on the mattress. Every inch of him was in agony. The blue K bracelet had fallen and was resting on the rope burns.

"There. That wasn't so bad, was it?" She smiled at him, and he sank into the mattress. He curled into the fetal position, and she rested a hand on his hip, but he just curled even further into himself.

Lana stared at her former lover through the one way mirror. She had been so sure that he had been poisoned, that as soon as she got all of it out of him, he'd be back to normal and would profess his love to her. Instead, all he was doing was being a menace and muttering that whore's name in his sleep.

Anger rose within her. She wanted him. She wanted to possess all of him. She could keep him here with her forever, but she had a feeling they didn't have long. She knew that Watchtower was probably closing in on her.

Lana turned to Levine, who was cowering in a corner. She had given up.

"Doctor. There's nothing more that you can do here. Your contract is terminated." She said, and he looked at her, disbelieving.

"If you tell anyone what has happened here today, I'll make sure you never see the light of day again. Understood?" He nodded and she continued to stare back at him coldly. "Get out of here, and take those stooges with you."

He stood and ran from the room.

Lana sighed. There was only one thing left to do. She looked at the array of weapons she had laid out on the simple steel table that made up the office behind the window. Choosing a gun that was filled with kryptonite bullets and a bat studded with kryptonite spikes, she opened the door and walked in.

* * *

Lois arrived at Watchtower three hours after she had hung up the phone with Chloe. When she arrived, Green Arrow, Impulse and Cyborg were huddled around a table, examining blue prints and other complicated diagrams.

She walked over to Chloe and her cousin just held her. A picture of Lana entering Isis was posted on a computer screen above them, next to a picture of Clark and her from the time he had flown them to Paris. It was as if they needed a reminder of what they were doing. Lois gazed at the picture longingly. She wanted her fiancée back.

She loosened herself from her cousin's grasp and walked over to the three people who were standing around the table.

Oliver looked up at her, and put a hand on her shoulder.

"We'll find him, Lois." He said reassuringly.

She nodded. "Where's the Bat? I thought he'd be here by now."

As if she had summoned him, the door of Watchtower banged open and Bruce Wayne, dressed as Batman, walked in. He walked into the room, and stopped, staring at the picture of Lana. It looked like he had gone three shades of white underneath his cowl.

"What is it, Bruce?" Bart asked, and he shook his head.

"What does Selina Kyle have to do with this?"

* * *

A/N: Haha, sorry for the cliffhanger! Just a little note: I realize that I'm not following typical Batman story lines and such, but I think I can be forgiven because I've never actually read any of the Batman comics, and this is a Smallville fic after all, so I can be forgiven for changing things to suit my needs.

For those of you who don't know: Selina Kyle is Catwoman in the Batman comics.


	10. Chapter 10

A/N: I hope you all enjoyed the last chapter. Thank you to all my reviewers, particularly cathy03, janeybird, thekiller00, and twilightluva786. You guys are my consistent reviewers, and you have no idea how much I appreciate it. Your reviews inspire me and keep me going. Keep it up! No worries, everything turns out for our hero. I also want to remind everyone that I do not own any of these characters, but God I wish I owned a piece of Tom Welling. Preferably the arms.

* * *

Lois was disappointed. The warehouse in Nell Porter's name had been a bust. It was full of antiques. It was just a storage unit. She sat in the back of Oliver's Escalade. The door opened and Chloe slid in beside her and grabbed her hand.

"Lois?" She squeezed her hand, and Lois turned to look at her. Suddenly, she couldn't hold it in anymore. Sobbing, she placed her head on her cousin's shoulder.

Chloe wrapped her arm around her, and held her for what felt like a good fifteen minutes.

"Lois, we'll find him. I promise."

"What if we don't?" Lois pulled away and looked into Chloe's face. "What if he's gone for good? I don't think I can handle that, Chloe."

"Lois, you can't think like that. We still have tonight."

"I know." She took a deep breath and sighed.

"Come on. Let's eat something and then we'll get ready." Chloe ran her hand through Lois's hair.

She nodded and Chloe leaned forward to give directions to the driver.

* * *

Lana watched as Clark rocked back and forth on the filthy mattress. It was matted with his blood and come. His knees were pulled up to his chin. His eyes were closed but his eyes were moving underneath the lids. He was obviously dreaming. She placed a hand on his forehead, and in his sleep he leaned into her touch. She smiled. Maybe she wouldn't have to do what was planned after all.

Clark smiled in his sleep. "Lois." His voice was hoarse, but he said it clearly.

Lana stiffened, and stepped back, hefting the specially made bat in her hand. "I'm sorry, Clark." She said sadly. "But if I can't have you, no one can."

* * *

Lois hadn't been able to eat at all. She sat in Watchtower and picked at the plate of food that Chloe had placed in front of her. She was nervous. They had to find him tonight. They had to.

She stood, looking out at Metropolis. The Daily Planet was emblazoned with the headline "Where is Superman?" She couldn't imagine the world without Superman. More importantly, she couldn't imagine her life without Clark Kent.

"Lois. Are you ready?" Oliver approached her in full costume and didn't touch her. For that, she was grateful. People had been trying to comfort her ever since Clark had gone missing.

She sighed. "I'm ready. Let's go." She turned and walked smartly out of Watchtower, Oliver trailing behind her.

Lois was nervous. Batman and Cyborg were going ahead, the Bat in the Batmobile and Cyborg was running. Chloe and she, obviously the most vulnerable, were parked around the counter. Bruce would let them know if the coast was clear. They'd been waiting for fifteen minutes.

"Should it be taking this long?" Lois felt foot jiggling anxiously.

"Lois, calm down. They're probably just doing a sweep to make sure that everyone's neutralized before they call us in." Chloe said, looking at Lois out of the corner of her eye.

"Watchtower. Come in, Watchtower." The radio in front of them crackled with Bart's voice.

"This is Watchtower." Chloe pressed the microphone on her lapel.

"We're clear. You and Girl Scout can come in."

"Girl Scout?" Lois said indignantly.

Chloe smiled at her. "Well, you are Boy Scout's counterpoint aren't you?"

The grin slid off of Lois's face. "As long as there's still a Boy Scout to be a counterpoint to."

"There will be. Let's go." Together, they opened their doors and slid out of the Escalade.

They both pulled out their guns, and it felt cold in her hand. She was glad that she had decided to wear tennis shoes. They were both virtually silent as they entered the building. It was completely empty and dark.

A figure slid down in front of them, and Lois jumped a foot in the air before her eyes focused and realized it was Oliver.

"The place is empty." He said, disappointed.

"Are you sure?" Lois said, anxiously.

He nodded. "Fairly sure. Unless there's a hidden door somewhere."

Lois walked around the empty first floor. He had to be here. He had to.

"Guys!" Cyborg's voice sounded from somewhere off to her left, and the entire team ran to his voice.

Victor's arm was sunk into a wall up to his elbow. "There's something behind here. I was tapping on the wall and it sounded hollow." He pulled his arm out and grasped the edge of the hole, ripping the wall down. There was a hallway that appeared to lead outside at one end, and a service elevator at the other end. The entire team ran toward the elevator.

As they climbed into the elevator, the whole thing felt incredibly absurd. Lois half expected tacky musak playing over a speaker. Her heart was pounding.

The elevator stopped and they all piled out. They stood in another hallway with a door at the end. Impulse dashed towards the door, opened it and slid in, closely followed by Green Arrow and Batman. Lois ran as fast as she could and entered the room behind them.

They stood in a small room that held just a steel table. There was a steel door, like the kind you'd see on a ship next to a window. The room behind the window was flooded with green light. Lois stepped up to the window and screamed, before running to the door and trying to wrench it open.

"Victor! Open this door!" She turned to scream at the heroes who were just standing there.

"Stand back." Cyborg gently pushed her out of the way, and pulled as hard as he could. The lock broke and the door flew open.

Lois scanned the room. In one corner there was an open shower and a freestanding toilet. A mattress lay in the other corner, and the body of her fiancée lay next to it.

She screamed again and ran to him. What she saw almost made her vomit. The mattress was covered in blood and what looked like semen. Bloody ropes lay above him. Chunks of kryptonite were imbedded in him, and it looked like he had been shot. A blue kryptonite bracelet lay far enough away that he was unaffected by it.

"Oh, God." She crouched down and pulled his head into her lap. "Chloe!" She screamed, and looked towards the door. Half of the Justice League was with her, and yet they all stood in the doorway, looking shell-shocked.

"Move out of the way." Chloe edged her way to the front of the group and knelt on the other side of him. "Sweet Jesus."

"What do we do?" Lois asked her, tears running down her face.

"We have to get him out of here."

"Oh God. Hold on, baby." Lois placed her hands on his face. "Hold on."

"Victor, Ollie, Bruce, get in here!" Chloe turned to the heroes that were still standing in the doorway. She reached for the filthy blanket and threw it over his lower half. She was struck by how thin he was. His hip and cheek bones protruded, and his skin looked like it was sticking right to his ribs.

Victor bent down to scoop him up, and looked shocked. "He's so light." He murmured.

"Call Emil, have him meet us at Watchtower." Victor carried Clark gently out of the room, and Lois stood to follow.

* * *

Emil arrived at Watchtower, to find absolutely no one there. He let himself in and moved to sit on one of Oliver's green couches. He wasn't exactly sure why he was there. Oliver had called him and told him to head to Watchtower immediately, and here he was.

He stood and was just about to pour himself a glass of Oliver's scotch, when Bart Allen appeared out of nowhere.

Emil was shocked by how pale he looked. Bart didn't scare easily, so to see him standing in front of him, pale and shaking, set Emil's teeth on edge.

"Bart. What is it?" He stepped forward to feel the boy's forehead, but he shied away from him.

"The team is bringing Boy Scout in any minute." Bart's Adam's apple bobbed as he swallowed heavily. "He's pretty bad, doc. Oliver said to prep for surgery."

Emil took a step backwards. "Clark? But I thought only kryptonite could hurt him…"

Bart nodded. "There's a lot of it. You're going to have to remove it so he can heal."

Emil nodded, and headed toward a room that Oliver had had set up especially for him in Watchtower. It was designed as a "just in case" room. It had everything needed in order to perform any kind of surgery. He had already used it to stitch Oliver up on multiple occasions, and once fix Victor's arm, but it hadn't been used for serious surgery yet.

"Bart. I'm going to need an assistant…" He looked at the boy, who shook his head.

"Chloe will help."

Emil nodded. As much as Bart said he didn't need anyone, he knew that the boy looked up to Clark. It must have been hard for him to see his idol so badly damaged.

"They're not far away. They should be here soon." Bart said almost absently.

Emil quickly prepped the room as best as he could, and was putting a gown, cap and mask on when Victor Stone entered, cradling the long frame of Superman.

Cyborg placed Clark gently on the operating table, and Lois and Chloe rushed in. Emil was automatically taking stock of Clark's wounds; several lacerations to the chest, a bullet hole through the right shoulder, and a head wound that was still bleeding profusely.

"Chloe help me turn him, I need to see what his back looks like." Chloe grabbed one of his shoulders and moved him on his side. He carefully examined the back. More lacerations dotted his back, and there was no sign of an exit wound for the bullet. Blood was running down his legs, and Emil spread his cheeks just a little, enough to know that he was bleeding from his rectum.

Emil sighed, and had Chloe roll him back on his back. No breathing or heartbeat, but his body was still pliable. Rigor mortis hadn't set in yet. If they could remove the kryptonite, he very well might be able to recover.

Lois was looking between him and her fiancée anxiously. "Well, can you help him?" She choked out.

"I think so." He nodded. "Chloe, get prepped. We're going to be here awhile." Chloe bobbed her head in agreement, and began to wash up.

Lois brushed Clark's damp hair out of his face and kissed his lips. His skin was still warm. "Clark, come back to me." She stared at his face, and then glanced up at Emil.

Oliver stepped up and grabbed her elbow. She shot him a nasty look, but he didn't even notice her. His eyes were fixed on his injured friend.

"Lois." Emil had pulled up his mask so his voice was muffled. "Trust me, you do not want to see this. We're going to have to cut him open. I promise I will come get you as soon as we're done."

She paled at the thought of them slicing him open. "I'd really like to stay with him…" She said uncertainly.

"Lois, go." Emil nodded at Oliver, and he tugged on Lois's elbow. She allowed Ollie to lead her away from her fiancée, and she sat down on one of the couches. Bruce had changed out of his costume, and was sitting as well. His hand was covering his eyes, but when he heard movement, he looked up at them.

"Lois." Bruce leaned forward and put a hand on her knee. "I'm so sorry. This is all my fault."

"Tell me again, Bruce." She said, looking at him.

He swallowed, and removed his hand. He couldn't look at her. Instead, he was staring at the floor between his feet.

"She showed up in Gotham a few years ago. I didn't know her name was Lana Lang. She told all of us that her name was Selina Kyle. She was an accomplished cat burglar, so much so that the _Gotham Gazette_ started calling her Catwoman. She once stole the Hope Diamond for a week and returned it, just because she could." He said this last part with a sense of awe, and Lois shot him a look.

Bruce looked at her sheepishly. "She must've overheard me talking to Clark one day. He dropped off all of the kryptonite he had and asked me to take it to Star Labs so they could keep it safe. It was a week later that I heard that Star Labs had been broken into. I told Clark about it, and that all the kryptonite and the research that had been done on it had been stolen, and he said that he'd look into it."

Lois sighed and leaned back into the couch, closing her eyes and putting her hand over her face.

"Lois, I'm so sorry. I had no idea that Selina Kyle was really Lana Lang." He squeezed her shoulder.

"It's ok, Bruce." She said wearily. "I need to lay down."

Lois stretched out on the couch, and she felt Oliver drape a blanket on her. She was exhausted, but she didn't think she could sleep. It felt like she stared out of the clock window that made up an entire wall of Watchtower for days. She watched the sun rise and move higher and higher into the sky.

After what seemed like ages, Chloe was standing in front of her. She sat up, and her cousin sat down next to her. It hadn't felt like she had fallen asleep, but she guessed she must have, because the sun was setting through the window. Chloe looked ragged, but she still reached out and grabbed Lois's hand. She pressed her thumb into the meat of her palm, and Lois felt like she was going to cry.

Chloe had a bloodstain on the gown that she hadn't bothered to take off, and she still wore the cap to hold back her hair. Emil walked from behind the couch, and crouched down in front of Lois.

"Ok, I'm pretty sure I got all of the kryptonite out, and I've stitched up his wounds. I think the only thing left to do is put him in the sun as soon as it comes up in the morning and pray for the best."

"Can I see him?" She said, her voice breaking on the last word.

Emil nodded and Lois stood to follow him. She entered the room and she noticed that they had moved him off of the operating table and into a full sized bed in a different room. Bright lights shined on him and a blanket covered his lower half. He had stitches going across his pectorals and down the middle of his chest and stomach. Another set of stitches ran across his right eyebrow.

His chest didn't rise and fall.

Lois looked at Emil. "He still hasn't started breathing yet, but he's still warm. I think there's a chance."

She walked over to the bed and slid in next to him, picking his arm up to wrap around her. She placed her hand on his face and turned his head so she could place a kiss on his lips. Even when he appeared to be dead he was beautiful.

"Clark, if you're in there. Come back to me. Please." Tears began to run down her cheeks. "I love you."

He was so still-too still. "Clark, I can't live without you. You know that, right?" She snuggled under his arm and was soon asleep.


	11. Chapter 11

A/N: I had some of you mention the fact that I used the term muzak in the last chapter. Muzak is a trademark name of the cheesy music that plays in elevators or in the grocery store, which unfortunately, I have to listen to all the time. Anyway, thank you all for the reviews, you have no idea how much I appreciate it. I have exams next week, so I'll see you all in about two weeks. Much love!

* * *

"Lois." Chloe shook her cousin awake just before the sun was due to come up. "The sun's about to come up, and Clark could use the time in the light."

Lois sat up, her hair mussed, and looked at Clark. Still no movement. She sighed and slid off the bed. Bruce entered the room, and pulled the blanket off of her fiancée. He was still completely naked, and Lois squawked indignantly.

"Lois, he could use the extra skin exposed to the sun." Chloe said, stopping her from pulling the blanket back over him.

Bruce lifted Clark into his arms, and carried him out onto the small balcony that looked out over Metropolis. He laid him down directly in the sun, and the three of them stood around him, making sure that no shadows fell on his tanned skin. It felt like eons that they stood there, just staring at him.

Lois sat down next to him, making sure not to cover up any of his skin. She heard the sliding glass door open and close, and knew that Chloe and Bruce had gone back inside. She would sit with him for as long as it took for him to wake up.

When she finally looked at her watch, it read a quarter to 2, and still nothing had happened. What if he really was dead? Lois shook her head. She couldn't think like that. It was then that she noticed a green film on his body.

"Emil!" She pounded on the glass, and Emil ran out. Together, they watched as green vapor continued to rise from his body and settle on his skin.

"What's happening?" She asked, concerned.

"It looks like his body is pushing out the kryptonite that got into his bloodstream. We should get him in the shower."

Emil ran inside and soon, Oliver was there, in a white undershirt and dark green sweatpants. He leaned down and wrapped Clark's arm around his shoulders. Emil did the same thing to the other side. Clark's feet dragged behind them, and Lois trailed behind them.

Lois had never seen the bathroom at Watchtower, and she was surprised by how lush and extravagant it was, although she guessed she shouldn't be surprised, considering Oliver was the one that remodeled Watchtower.

They laid him in the large shower that was completely enclosed in glass.

"Go on, I can handle it from here." Emil nodded and walked out, but Oliver paused.

"Lois, are you sure you'll be ok?" He inquired.

She nodded. "Ollie, we'll be fine." She told him. It was then that she noticed the large green smudge on his shirt. It looked like a mixture of kryptonite and sweat, and she nodded at it, and he looked down.

"You'll want to take care of that."

He sighed and walked out of the room, pulling his shirt off as he went. Lois turned to her fiancée, who was lying still on the cold tile of the shower. She toed off the tennis shoes she was still wearing, and then slid out of the black jeans and tee shirt that she didn't notice had an even darker congealing stain of Clark's blood on it. Both went into the wastebasket. She wasn't sure if she could ever look at those clothes again, even if the blood did come out.

She left her underwear on, and turned the shower. It fell straight down onto both of their bodies, soaking her bra through in seconds. She watched as the kryptonite that lay on his skin was washed off and swirled down into the drain.

Lois grabbed a towel and squirted some of the soap on it, rubbing vigorously until her hands and the towel were covered in soapy lather. She ran it over his body, making sure that no kryptonite was left on his body. She didn't realize how cold she had been until she was surrounded by the steam of the shower.

Lois stared at him, and offered up a prayer. When she was little, her father had made her and Lucy wear matching dresses and attend the service that as offered every Sunday on the base. She had never been really religious, Clark and she didn't attend a service, and instead spent Sunday mornings in bed, eating brunch and watching old movies.

She held her breath, and soon, the stitches holding his skin together fell out as his skin knitted back together. He then took a deep shuddering breath. He was breathing faster than normal, and his eyes were moving frantically under his lids, like he was dreaming.

Lois sighed, and threw herself down next to him. Once again she placed her hand on his cheek. The water sluiced over both of their bodies and she watched as his eyes flew open.

He let out a strangled yell, and pushed her away, crawling to a far corner, out of the water spray, drawing his knees up to his chin as he stared blankly at her.

"Clark?" She stood and walked over to him, but he held his hand out to stop her.

"Please. Stay away from me. Let me go." He was panting in fear and rocking.

She felt like she was going to weep. The door to bathroom burst open. Emil, Oliver and Chloe stood in the doorframe, worried frowns creasing their faces.

Chloe grabbed a robe that was hanging on the door and draped it over her cousin, who stepped out of the shower. She didn't realize she was shaking.

"Lois, get out of here. I'll deal with this." Emil said as Chloe let her out of the room.

She stopped in the doorway and watched Emil turned the water off and crouched down across from Clark as the Kryptonian continued to rock back and forth. Finally, he opened his eyes and looked at Emil. She turned and walked out to one of the couches, far enough away to give them privacy, but close enough that she could run to him if he needed her.

Chloe once again sat down next to her.

"What happened to him?" Lois asked her, turning to look her cousin in the eyes.

Chloe shook her head. "He has to tell you. But, I will tell you this-he had a hard time. Just give him time, he'll be back to normal."

* * *

Emil had seen this before, when he was doing rotations in the E.R. A young girl had come in and had refused to let any men touch her. They had had to call the cops, a special unit that dealt with rape cases. Eventually it had come out that she had been held captive for months and raped repeatedly.

"Clark. It's me, Emil."

His eyes flew open and finally focused on the doctor. He stopped rocking and took a deep breath.

"Emil?" He said, his voice small.

"Yes, Clark. It's me." He put a hand on Clark's wrist, and he shied away from him. "Do you remember anything?"

Clark nodded shakily. Emil could tell that he was having trouble holding himself together.

"It's ok, Clark. I know what happened to you." Emil said, pulling his glasses off and rubbing his face.

Clark stopped breathing and for the first time, really stared at Emil. "You do?"

The doctor nodded. "I was the one that removed the kryptonite from you."

"You can't tell anyone." Clark whispered to him as his eyes shot to the door.

"It's ok. What's said here won't go any further. It's doctor/patient privilege. But, I do need to know exactly what happened so I can help you get better." Emil said gently.

Clark nodded shakily. "She took me after Lois and I had our argument. When I woke up, I was in a room…like a cell. I was tied up, and she left me like that for days. There was no food, and I had to drink water from the shower. Eventually Lana came in and told me she thought I was poisoned. They gave me an enema and forced me to drink ipecac and gave me a diuretic." He shuddered. "She said she had to cleanse me of any poison. Eventually they hooked me up to an IV." He swallowed and stopped.

"What happened next?" Emil said gently.

Clark shook his head, but continued. "They gave me some sort of medicine that, ah…" He gestured to his crotch and the doctor nodded in understanding.

"When she couldn't, uh, do anything for me, she brought in a machine that shocked me." Clark said, looking at the doctor, pain behind his eyes. "That's the last thing I remember."

Emil swallowed. This was like something out of a horror movie. "Clark, I'm glad you told me this. Thank you." He said gently, standing up.

"Emil…I tried to stop her. I couldn't get away. You understand, don't you?" Clark seemed to be pleading with him.

"This is not your fault, Clark. It's her fault. Your only job is to get better." He said gently and Clark buried his head in his knees.

He opened the door and poked his head out. "Lois, will you bring him a towel and some clothes?"

Clark shook his head and took a few deep breaths. He knew that he was safe now. He was with friends. No one could hurt him here. He didn't want anyone to see him like this, especially Lois. Lois slid open the door. She was cradling one of his old blue tee shirts, a pair of boxers, a pair of jeans and a fluffy white towel. She set the clothes down on the floor and handed the towel to him shakily, but he couldn't look at her.

"Thanks." He said, clutching at the towel. He didn't know what to say to her.

"Clark." She crouched down in front of him and he wouldn't meet her eyes. "Please, Clark."

He finally met her eyes, and he noticed the pain behind them. Panic rose within him. Did she know?

She put a hand to his shoulder, and with that sudden comforting touch, he broke down.

Lois pulled him to her, and he rested his head on her shoulder, sobbing. She was reminded of all the times he had wept for the people he had failed to save, but this time it was different. This was the cry of someone who was broken and hadn't been put together yet, someone lost and scared and tired.

"Clark. Please tell me what's wrong." She brushed his hair away from his face and he shook his head.

"I can't, Lois. I wish I could, but I can't." He looked like a lost little boy, and Lois was struck with the feeling that Martha Kent must've had all those years ago.

"Clark, you can tell me anything, you know that, right?"

He shook his head again and he said, "You're so good and so kind. I don't deserve you."

"You save people's lives for a living! How can you say that?" She tried to force him to meet her gaze, but he wouldn't.

"You are the most amazing man I've ever met. You're brave and loyal and empathetic. You deserve everything and more." She brushed her lips across his forehead and he sighed, resting his head on her chest, allowing his arms to wrap around her.

"You don't have to tell me anything that you don't want to, but I wish you would let me in. We're partners, right?"

He sighed. He wanted to tell her, but what if he told her, and she left him? He felt the information bubbling up inside him, like it was going to burst out of him. It felt easier since he'd told Emil. It felt easier now, not as sharp.

"She took me right after our argument. At the cemetery." He said it so simply, and Lois held her breath, hoping he would continue.

"I woke up in that room. She told me that she thought I was poisoned, and that she had to flush my system. She didn't feed me, and I had to drink water from the shower." Lois still had her arms wrapped around him, but he didn't want to look at her. He knew that when he told her, she'd run away.

"She had a doctor with her and he had two assistants. They gave me an enema." He bit down hard on his lip, and as the coppery taste of his blood flooded his mouth, he blurted out the rest of it.

"Then they gave me ipecac and a diuretic. After that, the doctor gave me some sort of medicine." He had to stop, he couldn't say the rest of it.

"What happened next?" She whispered and he shook his head. She noticed tears running down his face. She had a feeling what he was going to say, but he was fighting it. "Clark…did she rape you?" She said. She had never been subtle. It was one of the reasons he had fallen in love with her. He was grateful that she had said it, not him.

He swallowed and looked at her. "She tried to." His voice cracked, and he let go of her, clutching his knees. He didn't want her to be the one to let go. "When I fought it, she brought in a machine."

Lois gasped and he looked at her, a deer caught in the headlights.

"I couldn't stop it, Lois. I tried, but I couldn't. You have to understand." He was shaking in earnest now.

"Clark, Clark, Clark. I'm not mad at you." She squeezed him tighter and he looked shocked to hear this.

"I'm mad at her." She said this through her teeth, but then sighed. "And I'm mad at myself."

"What?" He pulled away. "Why?"

"If I wouldn't have kept the fact that your mom was selling the farm a secret, you wouldn't have had to run away from me. I could've protected you."

"Lois!" He grabbed her shoulders, and this time, it was he who was forcing her to look at him. "She would've killed you to get to me if you would've been there. I'm glad you weren't there. This isn't your fault."

"It's not yours either." She whispered, and he seemed to deflate.

"I know. I just feel…dirty." He hung his head and she pushed his hair completely back.

"You're not. You're still the same old Clark Kent. My fiancée."

He smiled at this and looked up at her. She placed a kiss to his forehead, and for the first time in weeks, he felt safe.

Clark stepped into the farmhouse and was almost tackled by his mother.

"Clark, baby. I was so worried for you." She wept into his shirt, and he automatically brought a hand to her hair. He wished he could feel sorry for what she had been through, but he couldn't. As much as he loved his mother, he didn't have the energy to comfort anyone.

"Mom, please. I just need to get some sleep." He pushed her away and she looked at Lois, concerned.

He plodded up the stairs, and Lois heard him collapse on the bed upstairs.

"Lois, what happened to him?" Martha asked.

Lois shook her head. "He has to tell you. But, it was bad Martha. I'm going up with him.

She took the stairs two at a time and walked into their room. He was curled up under the eiderdown, just his head poking out.

"Lois." He croaked out her name and she slid under the blanket with him. He pressed his head to her chest and inhaled deeply. She ran her hand through his hair and he seemed to melt into the mattress.

"You won't leave me?" He said it as a question.

"Of course I won't. I'll be here when you wake up." She pressed a kiss to the top of his head, and it wasn't long before his breathing was steady. She fell asleep, knowing that everything was right again in the world, now that Clark Kent was back in her arms.


	12. Chapter 12

A/N: I'm sorry these are all coming so fast, I'm sorry I'll try and space them out more and only update twice a week on a regular basis instead of posting two or three chapters all and once and then not posting anything for awhile.

Thanks for all your happy thoughts with exams. They're officially over today, which hopefully means more time to work on this.

* * *

Clark awoke, his heart pounding. He'd been having the worst nightmare. He sat up and ran his hand over his face. It was dark outside, and Lois was curled around him, the big spoon to his little spoon. He took a deep breath and slid out of bed. He was afraid to sleep. He kept imagining Lana and that doctor looming over him. He wished there was a way to forget.

He glanced at the clock and it read 10 p.m. It was so early, and he was tired, but he didn't want to sleep. Every time he closed his eyes he saw them. He padded down the stairs and was surprised to see his mother and Oliver sitting at the table, cups of coffee in front of both of them.

"Oliver? Mom?" He said into the stillness and they both looked at him.

"Clark." They both looked at him guiltily, and he knew that they had been talking about him.

"What's going on?" Clark said suspiciously.

"We were just talking about what to do next." Martha said uneasily.

"What do you mean?" Her son sat down carefully at the head of the table and both Oliver and his mother looked at him.

"We need to find her and neutralize her." Oliver said simply, and Clark flinched away from him.

"Why?" He whispered. "Why do we even have to deal with her?"

"Because. She thinks you're dead, and when Superman comes back on the scene, she's going to know you're not, and come back for you."

Clark paled and was silent.

"Until we find her, we're going to team up, so that none of us are ever alone when we're on patrol. Since she knows all about us, it's possible she could take any one of us in order to get to you." Oliver said wearily.

Clark opened his mouth to apologize, but Oliver held up his hand to stop him.

"Clark, there's no need. It's not your fault. This was bound to happen sometime. But, we do need to figure out a way to stop her. As long as she's wearing the Prometheus Suit, she's a danger. Bruce has already given Emil all of the information he has on Selina Kyle and any research, but we need to find the doctor that helped her remove the kryptonite. He has the most information and he could possibly help us remove the suit." Oliver sighed. "Bruce thinks that the doctor that helped her hold you captive is the same one that removed the kryptonite. A Doctor Levine." He handed the file to Clark, who opened it.

He quickly shut it quickly. He felt like throwing up. "It's him."

Green Arrow nodded. "We'll find him, Clark, but in the meantime, we need to think about taking this to the news."

"What?" Both Martha and Clark slid back in their chairs, shocked.

"Look, I know it goes against everything to expose yourself like this, but we don't know what information she has. She could release pictures of you saying that Superman is dead."

Martha grabbed her son's hand and gripped it hard.

"I think what we should do is find someone you trust, and have them publish a story, saying that the reason Superman was missing for so long was because he was injured, and release the pictures of Lana and Levine to the media. She may be able to hide, but he won't. Batman already promised he'd get Gordon on the hotline for Edge City, Metropolis and Gotham, and Gordon will forward any relevant leads to us."

"Are you sure Gordon can be trusted?" Martha asked, peering intently at Oliver.

"Bruce trusts him, so I don't see why not." The blonde shrugged and Clark snorted.

"Bruce also thought Selina Kyle was harmless, and look what happened there."

Oliver nodded. "Gordon is different. He's on our side."

Clark nodded and sighed. "When can I start working again?"

Martha and Oliver shot each other looks. "Clark, are you sure…" Martha reached out to place her hand over her son's, but he pulled away.

"Mom, I can't sleep. I have to keep busy, or I'm going to go crazy." He said apologetically.

Oliver nodded understandingly. "Meet at Watchtower first thing in the morning, I can't promise actual work, but we can keep you busy." He pushed his chair back and grabbed the file in front of Clark.

Mrs. Kent pushed her chair back as well, but Oliver stopped her. "I can't let myself out, Mrs. Kent. Clark-I'll see you in the morning."

As soon as Oliver Green was out of the house, Martha Kent deflated.

"Mom, go to bed. You can have my room, there's still a bed up there." He placed his hand on hers and she nodded.

"You'll be ok, baby?" She asked as she gripped his hand tightly.

"I'm just going to have a glass of milk and go to bed." He smiled and she returned it warmly.

She brushed a kiss across his forehead, and he watched as she slowly took the stairs. He waited until the door closed to his old bedroom before he went to the door, opened it slowly so it wouldn't squeak, and walked out.

* * *

Lois rolled over in bed and noticed Clark was missing. It was bright outside, so she assumed that he had gotten up to do work on the farm.

She thumped downstairs, and noticed a full breakfast waiting for her. She helped herself and devoured her food within in fifteen minutes. She slid on her favorite pair of bunny slippers and stepped outside.

The barn door was thrown open and she noticed that the cows had been fed. She walked into the barn and saw a pair of legs sticking out from under the tractor.

"Clark?" She asked the pair of tan work boots.

He slid out from under the tractor, a rag clasped in his hands, attempting to wipe grease away.

"Hey." He smiled and stood.

"How long have you been awake?" She sat down on the hood of the tractor and he moved closer to her, placing a kiss on her lips. She wrapped her arms around his neck and he pulled away to smooth his lips across the tip of her nose. He shrugged.

"I don't know. Awhile." He grabbed his rag and wiped away a spot on the hood that only he could see.

"What do you want to do today?" She asked, sliding down.

He cleared his throat. "I'm going to Watchtower."

"What?"

"I'm going back to work today." He said abashedly.

"Clark, do you really think that's a good idea?" She said nervously.

"Lois, I'm going to go crazy if I don't have something to do. Oliver is pairing us up, so I'll always have someone with me. I'll be fine."

"Ok, fine." She stomped toward the house, and Clark couldn't help wondering if he'd said something wrong.

Lois burst into the house, stomping up the stairs. She didn't notice Martha Kent standing at kitchen sink, staring out at the farm dreamily. She walked into their room, throwing the door open and pulled off her clothes. She quickly put on a plain black skirt, a light blue blouse and a blazer.

Couldn't he see how much she had missed him, how much she had worried about him? How much she wanted to be with him? She sat down on the bed and slid her feet into a simple pair of flats. She stood to walk into the bathroom, but suddenly, he was standing in front of her.

"Lois, what's wrong? What'd I do?" He grabbed her hands and brought her close to him.

"Leave me alone, Clark. If you're going back to work than so am I." She tugged her hands out of his and walked into the bathroom, shutting the door behind her.

Lois looked in the mirror and snorted at what she saw. Her hair was a rat's next, her face was splotchy and there was a small stain on her blouse.

"Shit." She grabbed a rag and stuck it under the water, rubbing at the stain frantically. "Why aren't you coming out?" She said to the stain.

Suddenly, she was crying. Her breath was coming in great shuddering sobs and she dropped the rag and put her hands to her face.

The door burst open, and Clark stood in the frame, his eyes wide and pale. Lois turned to him and continued to cry.

"Th-th-this stain won't come out." She pointed at it and he just continued to stare at her.

"Lo. Why don't you tell me what's really wrong?" He said gently, grabbing her hand and leading her to the bed. He set her down on his knee and that only made her sob even harder.

It took a few moments, but she finally caught her breath.

"I don't want you to go. I know it's selfish, but-I was hoping that I could have you all to myself for a few days. I missed you so much, Clark. I thought I would go crazy while you were away. I don't want to live without you." She wiped her nose on her sleeve, and he pulled her to him, lying down on the bed.

"Lois, I've missed you too. The thought of you was the only thing that kept me going while I was away. And, you'll never have to live without me." He brushed her hair out of her face, and she closed her eyes, sighing.

"No, maybe not. But you'll have to live without me." She said resignedly.

"Where is this coming from?" He looked into her eyes and she shook her head.

"Clark, we have no idea how long you'll live. You'll probably see the end of time. I have, what? Another 60 years, if I'm lucky? One day, I'll be gone. Is it so wrong of me to want to spend as much of that 60 years with you?"

He swallowed. He had never thought of the day when they would be separated. He leaned down and brushed his lips across hers, wanting to desperately for things to be back to the way they were before Lana had taken him.

His smell pervaded her senses, and all she could think of was pressing her body to his. She swung her leg over to straddle him, and his hands went to her back.

Lois pulled away and ran her fingers through his hair, going to nibble on his neck. She pressed her pelvis into his, and felt…nothing. She pulled away to look at him and his eyes were tightly closed. He held his bottom lip between his teeth, and he looked like he was about to pass out.

She slid off of him and back to the edge of the bed. His eyes flew open and went to where she sat. Her head was in her hands and she looked about as lost as he felt.

"Lo?" He sat up and ran a hand over her back. She slid away from him and he was stung. "Don't you want to…?" He trailed off. He wanted to go back to the way things were. He wanted her, but his body wouldn't respond.

"I do, but not like this, Clark. You're not ready, and I'm sorry I pushed you." She felt like she was going to cry. Lana had stolen her fiancée, for more than just three weeks.

"No, I'm sorry." He grabbed her hand. "I wish I could…"

"Clark, no." Lois looked into his eyes. "When you're ready, we will, but not before then."

He nodded. "Maybe I should make an appointment with Emil?"

She pulled away. "Why? Are you sick?" Lois was suddenly nervous, and pressed her hand to his forehead. Clark leaned into her touch and smiled.

"No, but he said something about counseling, and who else could I go to?"

She nodded. "If you think that will help, then great!" She was suddenly enthusiastic, and it threw him.

"Well, if you're going back to work, then I am too." She stood and straightened her back, looking back down at her blouse. She sighed and slid out of it, standing before her fiancée in a plan black skirt and a black lace bra. He felt a stirring of arousal.

"Come here." He reached his arms out to her, and she went to him. He rested his head on her chest. He pressed his lips to her neck. It was easier paying attention to her. The whole time he was held captive, Lana hadn't allowed him to touch her, not that he had wanted to. But it made it easier to hold Lois, because there were no awful memories attached.

Lois was quaking in his arms, and he grinned when she gasped. "Clark."

He undid her bra with a quick turn of his hand, and she pulled away. "We should stop."

Clark almost laughed at the sight of her. Her bra was loose and her breasts hung just below it. Her hair was a mess and her lips were red.

He slid his hands up her stomach and slid her bra off of her shoulders. He cupped her breasts, running his thumbs over her hardened nipples. She groaned and melted into his hands.

She straddled his lap, and he flipped her, easing her back onto the bed.

"Clark, your mom…" She panted.

"I'm not worried about her," he said simply. He knew his mom would keep herself busy for a little while.

He laved his tongue over one of her nipples, while plucking at the other one.

He slid off of her, laying next to her and kissing her, allowing his tongue to swirl in the hot cavern that was her mouth. His hand slid down her stomach, before hiking up her skirt and yanking her panties down. He slid a finger along her seam, before sliding it carefully inside of her. She gasped and bucked up against him.

"Your so tight." He whispered against her neck, and he slid another finger in, while allowing his thumb to rub against her clitoris. Her eyes were closed tight, and his hand was moving in time to the thrusts of her hips.

Suddenly, she stopped moving and gasped, coming hard around his fingers. Her walls were tight around his fingers and he kissed her thoroughly as she came. It always amazed him, watching her orgasm. It was like she flew to a million different pieces and then slowly put herself back together.

Lois nuzzled into his neck, and she sighed before pulling away and sitting up. "I'm so sorry." She wrapped her arms around herself.

"What?" He sat up, looking at her. She was crying again.

"I didn't mean to push you. I'm so sorry." She was weeping into her arms, and he pulled her to him again.

"Lois, you didn't push me. I wanted to."

"No, you didn't!" She wrenched herself from his grasp and looked at him, eyes blazing. "I can't believe I did that. I'm as bad as Lana."

She stood and walked to the closet, pulling on a tank top and a pair of shorts. Lois was like a tornado around the bedroom, throwing clothes and her make up bag into a large duffel bag.

"Lois, where are you going?" He stood as she whirled around him.

"I'm going to stay at the Talon apartment for a few weeks." She dropped the bag on the bed, and he deflated as he sat back down on the bed.

"Why?" His voice was small.

"Clark, I think it's best that we take some time apart so something like this doesn't happen again." She sighed and sat back down next to him.

"This isn't your fault…" He started, but she held a hand up.

"I know that you think that, but you need time to heal, and I'm not helping the matter. We'll still have work, and we can go on dates like we used to." She smiled at him, and brushed her thumb across his cheekbone.

"Clark, it's what's best."

"Then why does it feel so wrong?" Clark whispered.

"Because we don't want this, but we need it." She smiled at him. "I love you. That's why I'm doing it. I just want you to get better so we can move past this and get on with our life together."

He nodded, and Lois walked out the door. He was stunned. How could they go from fighting, to being together, to her moving out? He still wasn't sure what had just happened. All he knew was that her leaving the farm felt like the worst thing that had happened so far.


	13. Chapter 13

A/N: First semester of grad school is under my belt and I'm free until after MLK Jr. Day! Woot! On a separate note, Albert Pujols is going with the Angels, and a small piece of me has died. However, I'm filling that hole with my fic, so yay! On to the story!

* * *

Two weeks of no sleep and little food had taken its toll on Clark Kent. Not that he would admit anything was wrong. Ever since Lois had moved back to the apartment above the Talon, sleep had been elusive and hard to come by. The mere thought of food repelled his stomach, and he wasn't quite sure why. It's not like he really needed those things, considering he was almost completely fueled by the sun, but it did help his metabolism. It's not like he was losing any muscle, what with the farm work that he was continuing to do, despite the fact that realtors were showing the farmhouse almost every other day.

Martha Kent had gone through with selling the farmhouse. He had a strange suspicion that it was because a man, but he couldn't be sure. She did seem to drop by the Planet more often, and she always asked how Perry was doing. However, it was always quickly followed by asking how Cat Grant was holding up, so it could just be a coincidence.

Clark pulled his glasses off and rubbed his eyes. He knew he shouldn't be taking the glasses off while at work, but his eyes were tired. He'd been sitting in front of the computer, attempting to write an article, and all it needed was a good conclusion.

Suddenly, the door flew open. He scrabbled to get his glasses on, then noticed that it was just Lois, and didn't bother. She slammed the door closed behind her and sat down at her desk across from him in a huff.

"Something wrong?" He smiled knowingly and she raised her eyes to his.

Lois's eyes darted around the room. She knew that the minute Clark had returned to work he had taken the bugs that Lana had planted in their office to Watchtower, but she was still afraid that he might have missed one and that Lana was still listening.

"Let's go grab lunch." She stood and grabbed her purse, before walking around and clutching his arm. She dragged him to his feet and he followed.

God, he missed her. A few nights ago, when he'd been trying to fall asleep and couldn't, he'd wandered over to the Talon and had just watched her sleep. He knew it was creepy, and the whole time he was there he felt like a stalker, but it was the only thing that calmed him. She had murmured his name in her sleep, and he had been filled with satisfaction. She missed him too. So why wouldn't she come home?

After his first meeting with Emil, he had gone to the Talon and tried to convince her to come home, but she wouldn't budge. She apparently wasn't aware of how much he needed her.

When they were out on the street, Lois walked over to a hotdog vendor and ordered for both of them.

She plopped down on a bench that was nearby, and handed him his hotdog. He sat down next to her, and watched as she unwrapped hers from its aluminum foil.

"I just came from Watchtower," she whispered and he leaned forward anxiously, almost squishing the food in his hand. It wasn't like he was going to eat it anyway.

"Canary and Cyborg caught Levine a half an hour ago. They're bringing him to Watchtower now." She carefully gauged his reaction, which was stoic. He leaned back, swallowing roughly.

"Do you want to go?" She placed a hand on his knee and at first he didn't do anything. Did he want to go? He didn't think he could bear seeing that man again. The last time they had been anywhere near each other had been when he was shoving something up his rectum. But, if he didn't face this doctor, then he would never get over his fear. Finally, Clark nodded.

"Alright." She took a giant bite out of her dog and looked at him carefully. "Do you mind if I finish this first?" Lois waved it in his face, and an onion fell between his feet. "Woops."

Clark smiled and peeled back the aluminum on his hot dog and took a small bite. He chewed thoroughly and swallowed. Lois watched him and he smiled before wrapping it back up.

"You haven't been eating, have you?" She asked him and he grimaced. How did she do that? How was she always able to see right through him?

"Of course I have…" He waved the aluminum at her and she nodded at it.

"Finish it."

"I had a big breakfast." He set it down next to him and she glared at him.

"Clark, I've seen you eat an entire 20 ounce steak, a baked potato, a salad, an entire appetizer of potato skins and still want dessert. You took one bite of a hotdog. Eat the rest of it, or I swear I'm telling your mother."

He gulped and unwrapped it. The last thing he wanted to do was let Martha know that he wasn't sleeping or eating. He quickly ate it and Lois smiled.

"That's better." She shoved the rest of the hotdog in her mouth, chewing vigorously around the large mouthful and stood. She walked into an alley, and he followed. Clark wrapped his arms around her and in seconds they were in Watchtower.

Chloe spun around in her desk chair and smiled at the couple in front of her. "They aren't here yet, but they will be soon."

Clark nodded uneasily. "Do you think he'll be able to lead us to Lana?"

"Not only that, rumor has it he did some serious research on the Prometheus suit. He may be able to tell us how to get it off of her, or at least how to imprison her." Chloe stood and walked to a computer, typing frantically on it.

A picture of Lana as Catwoman popped up and Clark cringed. "I don't know if we should imprison her. Wouldn't that just be doing to her what she did to me?"

"Clark, she almost killed you." Lois shook her head. "She deserves whatever she gets."

Suddenly, the door flew open. Dinah and Victor walked in, hauling a very frightened looking middle aged man between them. A white hospital coat was draped over Dinah's arm. He had closely cropped curly dark hair and small dark eyes set above a large hooked nose. Clark flinched and shrank behind Lois, who automatically adopted a defensive stance. Dinah dropped the coat on the table and stood directly behind Levine.

The doctor's wide brown eyes took everything in and when he saw Clark, he flinched and began to struggle.

Canary dropped him into a chair, and in seconds he was strapped to it. He tested the bonds on his wrists frantically.

"There's no way you're getting out of there." Chloe said simply. "At least, not until you've told us what you know."

If the situation weren't so serious, it would have almost been comical the way he gulped theatrically. Lois stalked towards him. She placed both hands on the arms of the chair he was chained to and he stared up at her. Clark had seen that look in Lois's eyes before, and if he were Levine, he'd be terrified too.

"Please." The doctor said, looking towards Clark.

Before she could be stopped, Lois had hauled her hand back and smacked him so hard across the face that a welt appeared on his cheek.

"How dare you." Her eyes were narrowed dangerously. "How dare you even THINK about asking him for help. You allowed that bitch to almost kill him, and now you're begging for mercy?" She took a step back, and glanced at Dinah.

"Just be glad they just sent Canary and Cyborg after you. If they'd have sent me, you'd probably be dead by now."

Levine was breathing heavily through his nose. "I think you broke my jaw!" He said accusingly, and Lois hissed. He was silenced immediately.

"Like I said, be glad I didn't get my hands on you first."

She walked back over to Clark and grasped his hand. Together, they watched as Chloe pulled up a chair and sat across from him.

"You're going to tell us everything you know about Project Prometheus and turn over all the work you did for Ms. Lang, is this clear?" She asked him, and he shook his head.

"She'll kill me." He stated it simply, and Clark understood. He stepped forward.

"If you give us the information and it leads to her capture, we'll let you go." Levine turned to look at the Kryptonian, and was struck by the oddness of the situation. He'd seen his DNA and it wasn't human. Whatever this thing was, it had human thoughts and feelings, it was something he hadn't thought of before. "If you refuse, we'll have our friend the Manhunter rifle through your thoughts for the information and then you can enjoy a nice stint in Arkham or Blackgate Prison."

"Or perhaps you can be the first human inmate of the Phantom Zone," Chloe intoned, leaning further back in her chair.

Levine swallowed again and sighed. "I helped her remove the kryptonite from the Prometheus Suit. I tried to tell her, but she wouldn't listen."

"Tell her what?" Chloe leaned forward excitedly.

"I didn't know much about kryptonite until I helped her, but it was easy to see that it's an incredibly unstable element. It's one of the most radioactive things I've ever seen. By having it so close to her skin for such a long period of time, it was only natural that it would make her sick, but she wouldn't listen. Kryptonite also happens to be one of the stronger elements I've seen. It had already started breaking down the Prometheus Suit. She's lucky it's still working." He dropped his head onto his chest and sighed again before looking up.

"I've stabilized the protein that's breaking down the suit, it's in my pocket." He nodded at the coat, and Chloe stood, pulling a syringe from his pocket.

"You've been carrying it around like this?" She asked, raising her eyebrows.

"I was scared!"

The blonde pressed a button on an intercom. "Emil, could you come here, please?"

Seconds later, Emil was walking through the door. The syringe was handed to him, and he cradled it delicately. "Make sure this is what he says it is. Send Impulse to Dr. Levine's office. His secretary will hand over all of his files and research."

Hamilton nodded, but not before giving Levine a filthy look as he walked out.

Chloe dialed Levine's office, and held the phone up to his ear. "If you even think about saying anything about any of us, I'll have Cyborg here crash all of your computers and Canary will make sure that you never hear anything ever again. Understood? Oh, and tell her Mr. Allen will be picking up those files."

He nodded and cleared his throat. "Cassandra?" After a slight pause he spoke again. "I need you to go into my office and open up my locked cabinet. There are two files in there. A Mr. Allen will be there shortly to pick them up."

Levine nodded at Chloe, who snapped the phone shut.

"Good. I'm glad we understand each other." She smiled at him and he nodded.

"Will you let me go now?" He said in a small voice, and Chloe shook her head. She walked around to a vault behind her desk, entered in the code and it opened. Clark squinted at it. How had he not known about that vault? Using his x-ray vision, he noticed that it was entirely made of lead.

He swallowed nervously. Why would Watchtower have a lead vault? What did they need to hide from him?

Chloe emerged from the vault, a syringe and vial in her hand. She inserted the needle and drew a very small amount of the clear liquid into it. She pressed the plunger until a small bead of the liquid ran down the needle, and before he could do anything to stop her, she drove the needle into Levine's neck, emptying it into him. He blinked, and his eyes lost focus.

"Chloe!" He grabbed her arm and pulled her away. "What did you give him?"

"Just a little something to erase his memory of us, nothing fatal." She shrugged and Clark paled.

"That's the stuff that Lex had made, isn't it?"

Chloe nodded, and he backed away from her. "Is that why that vault is made of lead? Because you didn't want me to see what you have in there?"

"Clark." Chloe reached out to him and he slid from her grasp. "No, it's not like that at all. There's a lot of information in that vault about everyone in the League."

"So you don't trust me?" He said, hurt.

She shook her head. "Not at all, but we both know what would happen if you were exposed to red kryptonite."

Clark shook his head vigorously then nodded at the needle still in her hand. "You _knew_ I wouldn't approve of that…that stuff."

"That isn't it at all." She flopped down into her desk chair. "Clark, he can't remember us. He knows your weakness, he could kill you. I didn't erase all of his memories, just the past few weeks."

He worried his bottom lip between his teeth, before nodding."I guess you're right."

For a moment, they all stood and looked at each other.

"Excuse me, where am I?" Levine had stood and was approaching him. Lois smiled at him uneasily.

"Yes, you got lost and you came here for directions. My friend Victor here will show you where to go." She nodded at Victor, who led the doctor out of Watchtower.

As they were leaving, Bart brushed past them, two files in his hand. He grinned at Clark, who gave him a weak smile.

"Chlo, here are the files you wanted." He set them on the desk, and Chloe pulled them toward her, flipping through them quickly.

"Man, that receptionist was one hot mama." He grinned at all of them, before realizing how tense the room was. "What's up?"

"Do you have kryptonite in there, Chloe?" Clark asked his oldest childhood friend uneasily.

She looked up from reading and nodded curtly.

"So you're keeping the only thing that could possibly kill me-no, that _has_ killed me, in a place that's supposed to be a haven?" He asked accusingly.

"Clark, it's not like that."

"Than how is it, Chloe?"

"You know if anyone ever gave you red kryptonite, the green is the only thing that will make you normal again."

"What about the blue, do you have that in there? Black? Silver?" He swallowed nervously. "Gold?"

She looked away, and her silence said everything.

"I can't believe this." He felt like he was going to be ill. He leaned forward, resting his hands on his thighs, and Chloe was up and next to him in a second.

"There's no gold or silver kryptonite in there, that wouldn't do anyone any good. Why would I need you to be paranoid, or have all of your powers stripped away for good?"

"Why would you need to have my powers taken away temporarily? Why would you need my inhibitions to be stripped away?"

"Clark, everything that's in there, is in there for a reason. What if the Fortress decides that Clark Kent needs to go away, and Kal-el needs to be here? The only way we can get you back is with black. I promise, none of the kryptonite in there will ever be used against you. I swear it." She grasped his chin and forced him to look at her.

He searched her face, gazing into her blue eyes. Finally, he sighed. "If it were anyone but you, Chloe…"

"We've been friends since we were fourteen. I promised to protect your secret at all costs. Don't give up on me now." She smiled at him and he nodded.

"So what now?"

"Why don't you and Lois head home. When Emil returns with his report we'll call everyone and formulate a plan." She pulled the files to her again and resumed reading.

Clark nodded and he scooped Lois up in his arms. He stopped outside of the Talon and set his fiancée carefully on her feet.

"Want a coffee?" She asked, and he nodded. They walked into the Talon, and not for the first time, Clark was struck by how little it had changed since Lana had opened it all those years ago. He knew that it was still run by LuthorCorp, which was a subsidiary of Queen Industries. Who had Oliver gotten to run it? Was it the girl with the lip ring and blue hair behind the counter, or was it some distant corporate agent? As much as he loved Lois and currently disliked Lana, every time he walked into the Talon, he was overwhelmed with nostalgia. Had there ever been a simpler time? Probably not, but it sure felt like it.

He missed the days when his biggest worry was someone finding out his secret and dealing with the crazed meteor infected of the week. Now he had to worry about Lex, who still looked like the Lex he had once known and been friends with, but who didn't remember him at all, or if he did, he didn't care. He gazed over at the table that he and Lex used to sit at every week when they had their weekly coffee. Maybe it was best for him to leave Smallville and move to Metropolis. He was there constantly anyway, and there were too many memories in Smallville.

The blue haired girl behind the counter, who wore a nametag that read "Yvonne", smiled when she saw Lois, who leaned forward and placed her order.

Lois grabbed the two cups and gestured at Clark to follow her. He took one of the coffees off of her and followed her up the stairs to the apartment. She opened the door and Clark was struck by how much she had changed the place. Everything was done in shades of orange and blue, her two favorite colors. He walked over to the modern orange couch and plopped down. Setting his drink on the coffee table, he gently patted the couch next to him. She sat down on the other end of the couch, propping her feet up into his lap.

He took her shoes off, dropping them unceremoniously on the floor. He slid her mismatched socks off of her feet, massaging the arches. She moaned and closed her eyes. He'd been seeing Emil every other day, and it had helped a little. Normality wasn't going to return quickly, but he wished his body would respond like it used to. He knew it was all mental, that it would take awhile for him to be "fixed", but he wished it would hurry up. The mind was willing, but the body reluctant.

Lois was looking at him. He hadn't even noticed that he'd stopped rubbing her feet. She turned, allowing her feet to smack the ground, and slid under his arm.

"You ok?" She looked up into his eyes and he nodded.

"I actually feel pretty good, surprisingly. I'll feel better once she's been caught."

"Me too." She ran a hand across her face.

"I was thinking, maybe we should look for an apartment in Metropolis." He said, running his hand through her hair. She stopped, looking up at him. She was silent for a long time, but she finally nodded.

"If Emil thinks that it's ok for us to live together, then we might as well."

Clark grinned at her. "Really?"

"Really. It sucks that mom's selling the farm."

He shrugged. "I don't know, it's kind of nice. This way we can find a place that's just us. I'll also be glad to not do chores anymore."

"I guess so. It just feels like home still."

"I know, but we'll make a new home for us and our children." He kissed her forehead gently and she leaned against him.

"Do you think we can take a personal day for the rest of the day?" She asked and he grinned.

"I don't think Perry would care too much. Did you turn your article in this morning?"

"Yep, got it in 15 minutes before the deadline." She smiled at him and he laughed.

"Wow, early for you."

"Hey!" She slapped his arm lightly and he rubbed it, even though it hadn't hurt in the slightest. She yawned widely, and he hooked his arms around her. He slid back, and Lois rested her head on his chest. She hadn't been sleeping well since he left. Nights were cold without her personal heater wrapped around her, and she just felt safer with him in the room.

Her eyes drifted closed, and he watched her fall asleep. She was the exact opposite of her self when she was asleep. Calm and peaceful as compared to hyper and blunt. Perry had started calling her Mad-Dog Lane, and the name fit. When she had a deadline, or when she had a lead, she was like a pit bull on a pant leg. That's what he loved about her. She always got right to the point, no passive aggressiveness. For the first time since he'd been back, he felt his eyes getting heavy, and soon, they were both sound to sleep, curled around each other.


	14. Chapter 14

A/N: I'm back again. I hope that this fic hasn't been moving too fast. Sometimes I feel like I should take more time with the plotline, but I get really excited about putting up a new chapter, mainly because of the good reviews I've gotten. So, I hope you enjoy the pace, and I'm sure you'll tell me if you don't. Anyway, keep the reviews coming! You have no idea what it does for my self confidence .

Also, I've been watching some Smallville season 10 for inspiration. This fic was originally meant to be a continuation of the entire series, but since I started it after Homecoming, it didn't really turn out that way. However, I hope that in the next few chapters, we'll be back on course and everything will even out in the end.

* * *

Clark was sitting at his desk, his head in his hands. If it were possible for him to have a headache, he would have one. "Lois, we've looked at ten apartments in the last five days and you have yet to find one you like."

He looked up, and she was glaring at him over her glasses. He was surprised by this latest turn in her wardrobe. She said it was because her contacts were bothering her, but he wondered if it wasn't something more.

"Yes, I'm aware Clark. It's just, our new home has to be perfect," she sighed.

"You do know that I can do whatever renovations that need to be done in like, a second right?"

Once again she was glaring at him. "I won't even dignify that with a response."

He groaned. "Lois, the last place we looked at was practically right down the street from here." And closer to Watchtower. He didn't say it, but she knew it's what he was thinking.

"Yes, and they also had a no pets policy." She got up and walked around her desk, balancing her maple doughnut and coffee on the edge of his. The paper was open and several classified ads were circled in red pen. "Unless you were planning on ditching Shelby with your mom."

"You're right." He adjusted his glasses nervously and she grinned at him. "It's just that…" He trailed off and she poked him in the shoulder.

"It's just what, Clark?" He had that whole "Last Son of Krypton" look about him, and it always made her nervous when he had that look.

"I just wonder if you aren't putting this off because you don't want to live together."

Lois sighed and was silent. Of course he would suspect the worst. "You know that's not true. I _do _want to live with you. I'm just not sure you're ready yet." She worried her bottom lip between her teeth.

"Lois." He spun a little in his chair, catching her leg with his hands. "Emil says I'm getting better."

"I know." She rested her chin on his forehead. "It's just…it takes awhile to get over something as traumatic as you've been through. I know. I've watched at least a million episodes of Law & Order: SVU."

He pulled away so he could look into her eyes. "But if we allow this to hinder our lives any more, then she really does win."

"I'd feel better if you were completely better." She grabbed her coffee and took a huge bite out of her doughnut before walking back to her desk.

Clark blushed. He knew exactly to what she was referring. Last week, after falling asleep at the Talon with Lois in his arms, he had slept for two days straight. He hadn't been aware that he needed sleep that much. He had awoken to Lois sitting on top of him, her laptop perched on her knees, her cell phone pressed between her cell phone and her ear, screeching at Perry.

When she told him that he'd been out for two days and that she had called them both in to work and written both of their articles, he'd grabbed her around the shoulders and kissed her so thoroughly, it had left her panting with desire. As he pulled away from her, he'd felt…anger, at Lana for taking this away from him, fear, shame, and guilt. She saw all of this flash in his eyes and had pulled away ruefully.

After making sure he had eaten, she had made him shower and get ready for work. He missed the days when before sliding into the shower he would sidle up behind her and convince her to join him. They hadn't mentioned it ever since. Until now that is.

"Lois…" He started, but she held up her hand to stop him.

"No explanations, Clark." She smiled at him over the top of her computer.

A loud buzzing noise suddenly came from Lois's handbag, which she had slung haphazardly over her desk chair. She turned and dug a perfectly manicured hand in her purse, pulling her cell phone from it, which was still buzzing. With a practiced hand, she flipped it open and pressed it to her ear.

"This is Girl Scout."

Clark looked at her, shocked. Since when had Lois been a part of the League? And since when had her code name been Girl Scout?

"Apparently there's a lot I need to catch up on," he said under his breath.

"Ok, we'll be there shortly." She snapped her phone shut and stood, pulling on her blazer and slinging her purse over her shoulder.

"What's going on?" He spun in his chair and she smiled wanly.

"Watchtower has pinpointed Miss Kyle, and the Bat has a plan. Let's go."

Clark couldn't decide if he was excited or nervous. Probably both.

"Alright. Let's go."

* * *

"I feel like an idiot." Clark pulled Batman's cowl off of his head. Batman, who was in civilian uniform just stared at him and Green Arrow smiled.

"Come on, Clark. It's just for one night." Oliver clapped him on the shoulder and Clark glared at him. He didn't think dressing as Batman for the night would do any good.

"Look, you were the one that wanted to help bring in Miss Kyle, and since Superman is supposed to be sick, dressing as Batman is the only way to help out." Oliver shrugged, and Lois appeared behind him, looking uneasy.

"Are you sure this is what you want?" She wrung her hands nervously and Clark smiled at her.

"Lois, I need to do this." He pulled the cowl back over his head.

"Ok, the serum is in this pocket." Bruce tucked a small syringe, already filled with the serum that would cause the Prometheus Suit to dissolve into a pocket in the Bat suit. He was surprised that he wasn't affected by it, considering it was manufactured from green kryptonite, but then again, Emil had stripped everything from it except the component that affected the Prometheus Suit.

"Do I just jab it in anywhere?" Clark turned to Emil, who nodded.

"It'll take at least a minute for the serum to take affect, but when it does, the Suit will dissolve and she'll be a normal person again." He touched the taller man's shoulder gently. In all their meetings, Clark had always expressed the wish that he would be the one to capture Lana. He thought it would bring some sort of closure to this whole experience, but Emil wasn't so sure. What if seeing her again caused him to completely break down?

"I'll be fine, you guys," he said, looking around at all of his friends who had varying degrees of worried faces on. He sighed. "Let's go." He grabbed Oliver and in seconds they were in Gotham.

"Wow. You've gotten faster." Green Arrow slumped on the pavement and Clark wrinkled his nose.

He walked towards the jewelry store that Catwoman was supposed to be hitting tonight. How Bruce knew this, he wasn't sure. Bruce had ways of figuring things out and doing things that he knew Clark wouldn't like, so he often hid his shadier methods from Superman. It rankled Clark a little, but he'd long reconciled the fact that Bruce would be Bruce, and there was no way he was ever going to change.

Oliver tugged on his cape, and shot a grappling hook from his cross bow. Clark looked down at the similar looking gadget that was hooked onto his belt, and did the same. It was odd, having to actually use tools and weapons. Normally he just brought himself.

Green Arrow and "Batman" perched above the jewelry store, in complete silence and darkness. Clark was just beginning to wonder how long it would take for her to show up, when a dark figure emerged from an alley across the way.

He had never seen Lana in her Catwoman costume, and he was a little repulsed by what he saw. She wore a skintight leather body suit, along with gloves that looked to have retractable razor claws attached to them. A cowl, not unlike Bruce's, but instead going all the way to the neck, it only went below her ears.

Lana walked towards the store in the darkness. Oliver nudged him, and he knew that now was his chance.

Clark descended to the ground below the same way he came, on his grappling gun, and in seconds he was right in front of her. He felt like his heart was going to jump out of his chest, but he had to stay cool. How would Bruce behave?

"Well, well, well. If it isn't the Bat." She purred at him, and he quickly adopted the deep gravely voice that Bruce put on when he was in costume.

"Miss Kyle." He nodded at her and she grinned cattishly at him.

"What are you doing in this neck of the woods?" She walked around him, allowing a hand to run across his shoulders, and it took all of his effort to not shudder at her touch.

"On the lookout for strays."

She laughed maniacally and rubbed against him. Clark wasn't sure what happened first. In one swift movement, he reached inside his pocket, grabbed the syringe and plunged it into the soft part of her neck, where it met the shoulder, completely emptying the serum into her. At the same time, she reached behind her with a small perfume bottle, and sprayed a red substance into his face.

The concoction settled on the exposed area of his face, getting directly into his eyes and mouth.

She screamed and yanked the needle out of her neck. Soon, she was grinning like the Cheshire cat. Lana ripped the cowl off of his head.

"I knew it would be you who came for me, Clark. You see, after you escaped, I went back to clean up and you were missing, so I knew you were still alive. It only hit me afterward what the real cure to your poisoning would be." She tapped the bottle against her chin.

"Red kryptonite."

He could feel it affecting him. He felt drunk. Like he could do anything and everything he wanted. He smiled wickedly at her, and he could see the hope blossom behind her eyes.

Suddenly, his large hand was around her neck, and she was being lifted into the air, pressed against the wall of the store. With a soft thud, Green Arrow dropped beside him.

"Clark, man, you don't want to do this." He rested a hand on his friend's shoulder, and Clark whipped his head around to look at him.

"You're wrong, Oliver. I want to do this very much." He squeezed his hand, and Lana struggled weakly against it.

"You do not want to do this Clark. You and I both know that if you really wanted to, you would have already killed her by now. Plus, what would Lois say?"

Lana was dropped unceremoniously to the ground. Oliver swore he saw red in pale green eyes.

"Lois." The name hung between them, almost heady, and Oliver nodded.

"Yes, Lois. Your fiancée."

With a gust of wind, Clark was gone. Green Arrow sighed, reached into a pocket and put his headset in his ear.

"Yeah, Watchtower. We have a problem."

* * *

Lois clambered out of the shower, wrapping one of Clark's extra large blue towels firmly around her. After Clark and Oliver had left Watchtower, she had decided to go home. She knew that they would be bringing Lana in to Watchtower, and she did not want to be there. She wouldn't be able to control herself, and she'd probably end up ripping the other woman's face off.

The cell phone that was lying on her desk when she walked out of the bathroom beeped once to show that there was a voicemail, and she hustled over to it and eagerly pressed the phone to her ear.

"Lois, we have a problem. Call me back." Chloe's voice seemed to blare through the phone, and Lois suddenly felt as if her heart was in her mouth.

Pressing her speed dial, she got through to Chloe in one ring.

"Chlo. What's going on?"

"Lois! Are you all right?"

"Yes…I just got out of the shower." She sat down on the edge of the bed. "Chloe, what's wrong? What's happening?"

"Lana sprayed Clark with red K. We don't know where he is. The last thing he said was your name before speeding away." There was some rustling on the other end, and Lois got the feeling that Chloe was going through papers of some sort.

"Ok…so what do we do?"

Her cousin sighed. "I don't know Lois. The only thing that has gotten rid of the red K in the past has been green K, but Emil doesn't think we should use it on him. It could bring back all of the memories of being held captive that he's been trying to deal with."

"I agree with Emil." Lois said immediately. "I'll keep my eyes open, maybe head out to the farm and see if he's there."

"Alright, but if things get out of hand, you call me and I'll have Impulse there in two shakes to help."

"Ok. Love you, cos." She flipped the phone shut. A squeak of the floorboards drew her attention to the door, and there he stood. He had changed out of the ridiculous Batman costume and was wearing jeans, a black tee and a heavy looking leather jacket. He was leaning against the doorframe, his eyes were dark and she shivered.

"Clark!" She ran to him, wrapping her arms around his neck and burying her face in the crook of his neck. "You're ok!"

"Of course I am, now that I'm here." His arms snaked around her waist, and she pulled away to look into his eyes.

"Chloe said that you were sprayed with something. Are you sure you're feeling alright?" She pressed her hand to his forehead, and he leaned into her touch.

"I'm fine." He grinned wickedly at her, and the next thing she knew, she was in his arms. He carried her into the kitchen and set her down on the edge of the counter, stepping in between her legs. He ran his nose along the shell of her ear and lightly kissed her neck. She shivered.

"Clark, are you sure this is what you want?" Her voice seemed too loud in the room, and he didn't answer her. He moved his hips closer to hers and she felt his hardness through the confines of his jeans.

He kissed her hard on the lips, and when his tongue swept along her bottom lip, she opened her mouth. His tongue slid into her mouth and she moaned. She could feel his smile against her lips, and she instinctively wrapped her legs around his trim hips. He thrust against her. His hands went to where her towel was knotted in place and the towel slid off of her.

Lois's hands tangled in his hair and he groaned. They moved down to grasp his jacket, and she pulled it off of him. Her hands slid up his shirt, and he helped her pull it up and over his head. His hands went to his jeans and he quickly undid his belt. It seemed like seconds and he was completely naked, and Lois realized, it probably was seconds.

"Wait. Wait." She pushed him away slightly and took him in. His mouth was open slightly and his lips were red and swollen. His chest was heaving and his breath was coming in great gasps. He looked painfully hard, and his erection was weeping slightly.

"What?" He looked confused and she shook her head, trying to clear it.

"Are you sure?" She wanted this so desperately, but not like this. Not if it meant ruining his already fragile mental health.

"Lois, I couldn't be more sure." He moved closer to her, running his fingers through her hair. She tilted her head back, exposing her neck to him. He ran his tongue down the side of her neck and slid it along her collarbone. Lois gasped and he brought his eyes up to her face. Her head was thrown back and she speared her hands through his hair.

He laved his tongue down a breast and twirled his tongue around the areola before running it along the hardened peak. Once again she wrapped her legs around his waist, and he straightened. He molded his hands around her breasts, running his thumbs across the nipples and he tugged gently. She gasped and kissed him fiercely. Reaching a hand between them, she grasped his cock in her hand and he threw his head back and hissed before kissing her again.

She guided him to her entrance and he slid into her. Lois gasped and he stilled. She had forgotten how big he was. They hadn't had sex since the night of their engagement. It felt like he was nudging at her lungs. She clung to him, her face buried in his neck, as she tried to catch her breath. Clark moved her head to rest her forehead against his, and she opened her eyes to look into his bottle green ones.

"You ok?" He pressed his hand to her neck and she nodded.

"Just give me a minute."

They just stared into each other's eyes for several minutes, and she had never felt more connected to him. Finally she nodded again, and he moved against her, sliding out until just the tip of him was in her before thrusting against her.

Soon, she was meeting his thrusts. The sound of his skin slapping against hers drove her. The edge of the Formica and wooden countertop bit into the back of her thighs, and she raised her knees slightly to relieve the pressure, pressing her heels into his buttocks. One of Clark's hands snaked between them to rub at her clitoris and she gasped as the tip of his cock rubbed against her G-spot and his finger made circles around her clit.

Lois could feel the orgasm building behind her eyes, and she grasped his shoulders. "Clark!" She shouted his name as her orgasm washed over her. He didn't stop the constant thrust of his hips. His eyes were dark and hooded as they stared right into hers. He continued to pound into her, as well as rub her clit. Her orgasm continued to make waves over her, and she didn't think it would ever end.

Finally, with a grunt, he finished, emptying inside of her. The flood of warmth pushed her over the edge again. She collapsed against him in a sweaty mess. Her hair stuck to the back of her neck and his chest. Her breath was coming in great gasps, and he pulled away, sliding out of her. She felt his loss painfully. When they were joined, it was like she was whole, and when he left she just felt…empty.

Clark smiled at her, sliding his arms under her knees and behind her neck. He cradled her against his chest and sped into the room. He dropped her on the bed and she collapsed onto it with a giggle. He laughed and collapsed next to her. He nuzzled her neck and slid a hand from her stomach down into her curls.

"Again?" She smiled and he grinned. He grasped her hips and she looked at his cock, which was already hard again. She grasped the base and slid down on top of him. She ground her hips against his and he drove into her. His hands were hot and hard on her hips. The thrusts of his hips were rhythmic, almost like the ticking of a clock. But soon, it felt like she was just going along for the ride. He was frantically thrusting into her, and she brought her hands to her own breasts, pulling at her hardened peaks. She squeezed around him as another orgasm came over her. He finished with a grunt and she collapsed on top of him.

Lois sat up, rolling off of him, and he wrapped his arms around her, burying his face in her hair. His eyes were already drifting shut. She craned her neck up and placed a tiny kiss on the tip of his nose, before resting her head back on his shoulder.

"I love you, Lo," he said sleepily.

"I love you too."

* * *

Clark awoke feeling very confused. His mouth tasted like he'd licked the bottom of a boot and he had a pounding headache. "This must be what hung over feels like."

He rolled out of bed and stood. Everything from last night was in sharp clarity in his mind, so it wasn't that he was drunk. He remembered being sprayed in the face with red K, and even remembered coming to the Talon. He looked at Lois, and he felt sick to his stomach.

She lay on her side, her feet tangled in the orange top sheet. The bottom sheet was streaked with red dust that sparkled in the sunlight. His heart sank when he noticed the shadows of bruises that played across her hips.

"Lois?" He whispered her name, and her lids slid open. She gasped and sat up, clutching her arm to hide her breasts.

"Oh, God." It only took her about a second to take in the scene around her, and he watched as she ripped off the sheets and the pillow cases, making sure not to drop any of the red K dust, and ran to the washing machine. She shoved it all in, turned the water on hot, dumped a capful of soap in, and slammed the door closed, before finally turning to him. She looked like she was about ready to cry, and he couldn't blame her. God, he'd practically forced her to have sex with him. Although, he did feel better-hungry, even. And he hadn't felt hungry in weeks.

"Clark?" She approached him slowly, as if she was expecting him to bolt. Her hands were outstretched, and he felt a surge of desire as he looked at her. She placed one of her hands softly on his cheek. Tears were brimming in her eyes, and he felt horrible.

"Are _you_ ok? Lois, I'm so sorry." He placed both hands on her shoulders, and he was surprised when she didn't flinch away. Instead, a look of shock passed over her face.

"Why are _you _sorry? God, I'm an awful person." She sat down on the bare mattress, resting her hands on her knees.

"I'm a little lost here. Wasn't I the one that came into the apartment and forced myself on you?"

Lois looked up at him, and he looked like he was in genuine shock. "Clark, you didn't force me to do anything. You were drugged, and I took advantage of you. Oh, God. I'm no better than Lana." She started to cry in earnest now, and he sat down next to her, drawing her close to him.

"Shh. Lois, you are nothing like Lana. I promise you that you did not take advantage of me."

"How can you say that, Clark?" She gestured toward the washing machine. "You had red K in your system."

"And all that that does is make me lose my inhibitions. Although I'm beginning to suspect that it might have neutralized some green K that Emil might have forgotten. That might explain the depression and the loss of appetite and libido." He said it so scientifically that Lois had to pull away from him.

"Clark, you were raped and beaten to death." She said it so bluntly that he had to shrink away a little. "No one expects you to bounce right back, least of all me. I can't believe I did this."

Lois stood and walked towards the bathroom, and he was right behind her.

"Lois, wait." He caught her arm and spun her towards him. "Please don't shut me out, here. I wanted this. I'm glad it happened. For the first time in weeks, I feel normal. I feel really good, great actually." As the words left his lips, he knew they were true. The sun seemed to shine a little brighter, his stomach was growling, and he had the most beautiful woman in the world naked in his arms.

"Clark, you don't have to make me feel better, in fact-don't. It's just making me feel worse." She turned to walk away, and once again he noticed the dark bruises on her hips and thighs. He followed her into the bathroom, and pulled her over to a mirror.

"If you think you feel awful, think how I feel when I see this." He spun her so that she was sideways, and she had to turn her head to look in the mirror. Clark's hand danced across the lightly bruised skin, and she was astonished.

"When did that happen?" Her hand went down to caress the skin, and it wasn't painful, just a little tender.

"Last night." He noticed a distinct handprint on her thigh and grimaced, before finally sighing. "Look, if anything, we're even. Although I still say you came out the worse for wear." He cupped her face in her hand, and her eyes slid away from his.

"Hey. Look at me, Lo." Her hazel eyes met his green ones and he smiled. "I love you. I'm not lying to you when I say that last night was amazing." He pushed his hand into her curly, matted hair and kissed her gently. "I honestly feel great. And, I'm sorry for hurting you."

"You didn't hurt me." She said it quickly, and placed another kiss on his lips. "Are you sure you're ok?"

"I've never been better." He grinned cheekily at her. "Now how about that shower?"


	15. Chapter 15

A/N: For those of you who are unaware, I've spent all of today going through my chapters and putting in the line breaks and finding grammatical errors in the chapters I have posted. I've also posted chapter 14, and of course, this is 15. This feels like an interim chapter to me, so sorry about that. The "Lana Situation" as I'm calling it, is resolved in this chapter, but we'll be seeing our favorite villain soon, I think. Also, if you have anything you particularly want to see in this fic, let me know. I don't really have it all planned out (which is really bad, I know, but I work better when I don't have a plan, or at least-I think so), so if you want to see something, don't be afraid to put it in a review. But, don't be mad if I decide not to put it in there. Much love to all, hope you all had a good New Year! My most exciting moment was when my friend Stef's boyfriend almost set my neighbor's house on fire! Yay! Anyway, enjoy!

* * *

Clark walked into the Watchtower building, feeling distinctly better than he had in weeks. The thought of Lana still chilled him, but the thought of her didn't frighten him the way it had the past few weeks. Lois had opted to drive from her apartment to Watchtower, because they were going apartment hunting afterwards.

His mother had decided to sell the land to Ben Hubbard, who had offered to keep the farmhouse for her whenever she wanted to come back, and he had been grateful. Ben had been a good friend to his parents, and this way his mother would have a place to retire to when she finally decided to give up the good fight in Washington. However, his mother had been right in one respect-it was stupid to continue commuting to Metropolis. While he could get both him and Lois from Smallville to Metropolis in less than three seconds, there were times when he couldn't be there to be the Metropolis express, and she had to drive, which meant waking up at 4 in order to shower, and if Lois didn't get her sleep, everyone suffered.

He took the elevator up to Watchtower, thinking about their new apartment and what life with Lois would be like in Metropolis. The last thing on his mind was Lana Lang, until the elevator doors slid open, and she was tied to a chair, snarling at her former best friend, who sat coolly in her office chair, her legs crossed and fingers steepled in front of her.

"Let me go, you bitch."

"Now Lana, is that any way to talk to the people holding you captive?" Chloe smiled condescendingly at the girl across from her.

Lana's eyes slid to Clark, and the snarl was wiped from her face.

"Clark." She purred his name with such ease, that it made him ill.

"Hello, Miss Kyle." He nodded at her, and the grin slid off of her face. It brought him a ridiculous amount of pleasure.

"Clark, you have to convince them to let me go. Please, I didn't do anything." She strained against her bonds, trying desperately to hold on to her composure.

"Oh, I beg to differ." He approached her, and placed both hands on the arms of the chair, leaning in so their noses were almost touching. "But you see, Lana, I can't let you go until I know you're perfectly safe." He said it with a sneer, and she flinched away from him.

Looking at her up close, he saw that without the Prometheus Suit, she had lost a measure of her beauty. Her hair was frizzy, and her skin looked oily. Her eyes were frantic, and bloodshot. He wondered how he could have ever found her attractive.

Chloe walked over and placed a hand on his shoulder, and he stepped away, grinning at his best friend. The look on her face was one of worry, and he wondered if she thought he would go crazy and attack their prisoner.

"Well you look like you're feeling better." She smiled hesitantly at his expression, and he nodded.

"Lois is on her way over." He saw Lana stiffen out of the corner of his eye, and he felt elation bubble up inside him.

"Ok, well when the rest of the League gets here, we'll decide what to do with her." She tilted her head at the woman chained in the middle of the room.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, we can't let her go. Despite the fact that she no longer has the Prometheus Suit, she can still hurt all of us, you in particular." She sat back down at her computer, and began typing.

"Ok, well what are our options?" He sat down across the desk from her, and she looked at him intently.

"Hey! Don't just talk about me like I'm not here." Lana was screaming from behind him, and they both ignored her.

"Well, there's the Phantom Zone."

Clark shook his head. "Sending her there means certain death. I wouldn't wish that on anyone."

"Well, then there's this." Watchtower laid a syringe and her cell phone on the desk, and Clark stared at it.

"What is this?" He nodded at it, and Chloe nodded.

"This is Lex's serum that will wipe her memory, and this is the call that I'll make to Belle Reve to have her committed."

"What? You can't do that!" Lana screeched behind them, and he could hear her struggling against her bonds.

"Are those the only options?" He leaned forward, and ran his hand over his face.

Chloe sighed. "The only safe options." She paused and finally said, "Well, we don't have to decide now, we'll get the other ideas from the rest of the League, and then we'll vote." She grabbed her phone and slid it into her pocket, and slid the syringe into her desk and locked it.

They sat in comfortable silence, listening to Lana struggle weakly. Suddenly, Oliver burst into the room, limping slightly and one hand clutching his upper arm.

"Oliver!" Chloe stood from behind the desk and ran to her husband, who collapsed on the couch. Clark was quickly behind her, scanning his friend for any breaks.

"I think I'm going to need stitches." He said as Chloe pulled his hand away from his arm. Three large gashes were drawn across his arm, it looked like he had been swiped by a tiger.

"Emil!" Clark shouted for their resident doctor, who came bustling in. He sighed when he saw an injured Oliver. He left and then returned, pushing a waist high set of drawers on wheels. He pulled a chair across from the Green Arrow, who turned so Emil could look at his injury fully.

His arm was swabbed with iodine and Emil threaded the sterilized needle. "His ankle is sprained." Clark told Emil, who nodded.

"I'm going to grab some lunch, and catch up on some work. What time will everyone be here?"

"Uh, about seven." Chloe looked at her watch distractedly. "You have about 3 hours."

"Ok. See you later." He ran back home to the farm, noticing the boxes that were piled up throughout the house. He sat down on the couch and pulled out his phone. Oliver had supplied the entire League with smart phones. Normally he wouldn't accept such an expensive gift, but they really weren't gifts. And Oliver insisted that they all needed one, since they all had GPS trackers and what seemed like a thousand different gadgets. The only problem Clark had found, was finding a place to stow it when he was in costume. Tights weren't built to have pockets. However, since then, he'd been playing Words with Friends with Diana and Bart. Whenever he had down time, which wasn't as often as he would have liked, he would pull it out and open the game. Currently, Diana was beating him and he was beating Bart, so he figured it all evened out. It was nice to feel like everyone else, and he wondered how the makers of the game would feel if they knew Superman was playing it.

Diana Prince had shown up on the scene about a year ago, and since then, she'd been a part of the League. Where she had been before joining them, he had no idea, and frankly didn't really care. He knew Lois was a little jealous of Diana, and it still baffled him. Why would he ever be interested in an Amazonian princess, even if she did have a lot of his powers? Diana reminded him a lot of Bruce, arrogant, rich, spoiled. But, it was odd having someone who had almost all of his abilities, and who wasn't Kara. While she was definitely a part of the League, she was also somehow outside of it. She showed up when she wanted to, and came off as affected. Clark guessed that owning your own high end boutique and having unlimited access to designer clothes would do that to a person. He didn't often enjoy her company, but it was nice to know someone who had the same abilities, even if she didn't bother to hide her identity.

Clark played his word and shoved his phone into his pants pocket. He gazed around at the bare bones of what had once been a fully functioning farmhouse. He would miss this place. He stood, and walked over to the mantle, where three boxes were stacked. The picture of him and his parents was placed carefully on top, and he brushed some of the dust off of the glass.

"Don't worry, Dad. I'll always hold on to Smallville."

* * *

Lois came gliding down the stairs and put her coffee order in to the girl with the lip ring. She gazed around the room, and was pleasantly surprised to see none other than Clark Kent sitting in his usual spot, a giant coffee sitting in front of him. When her eyes fell on him, he looked up and smiled at her, his eyes crinkling at the corners.

"Well, I thought I was meeting you in Metropolis." She smiled and sat down across from him.

"We have to be back at seven, Girl Scout." He grinned at her and she blushed. "So when did that happen?"

"When we were looking for you. I needed a code name, and Oliver figured I was Boy Scout's counterpart so…" She shrugged and grabbed one of his chips.

Clark nodded, grinning. "I like that. Boy Scout's counterpart." He placed a hand over hers, and brushed his thumb across the soft skin there. "Do you want to go apartment hunting after this?" He took a sip of his coffee and she nodded.

"We might as well. The sooner we find an apartment, the better, if you ask me. I'm getting sick of the commute." She pulled a folded up newspaper from her purse and ran her finger down the line of apartment listings.

"There's one down the street from Watchtower that has all granite countertops, hardwood floors, three bedrooms and two and a half baths." She shoved the paper across the table to him, and he glanced at the picture.

"It looks perfect." She grabbed at the paper and flipped open her phone.

Lois quickly punched in the number and put it to her ear. "Hello. Yes, I'm calling about the apartment on State Street." She paused. "Yes, we'd like to view it." Another pause. "Oh, you're available now?" She looked at Clark who raised his eyebrows.

"Ok, we'll be there soon." She snapped her phone shut, and Clark picked up his coffee. She stood, and he slid his hand into hers.

* * *

Lois walked out of the apartment building, her arm threaded through Clark's, grinning ear to ear.

"Home sweet home." She said, kissing him lightly on the lips.

"It really is perfect, isn't it?" He looked up at the old brownstone that had been completely remodeled on the inside to their ideal home. It was everything it said in the paper and more, complete with skylights and a two person Jacuzzi tub, which Clark intended to make full use of as soon as they were moved in. Thank God he had remembered to bring his checkbook with him, and they were able to put a down payment on their first month's rent.

"Well, it's almost seven. Should we head over there?" Lois grabbed his hand and he nodded. Together, they walked to Watchtower. She was incredibly nervous. She knew that the rest of the League would never vote to let Lana go, except for maybe Bruce who seemed to take some sort of sick pleasure out of defeating Catwoman. But Bruce and Clark were fairly good friends, or at least well known team members.

They rode the elevator up in silence. Clark draped his arm around her shoulders and she snuggled into his body heat, once again reveling in the scent that was distinctly Clark. She was glad that he was back to normal, but she worried if there wasn't something lurking underneath the surface. Probably not. Clark wasn't the type to easily hide his feelings. He definitely wore his heart on his sleeve. This had always surprised her, especially since he had spent so many years hiding his secret.

The doors slid open, and together, they walked into Watchtower. When Lois saw Lana, chained to a chair, her chin resting on her chest, she almost felt sorry for her. That is, until the other woman looked up and grinned at her. It took every single fiber of her being not to leap onto the other girl and murder her with her bare hands.

Clark put a restraining hand on Lois's arm, and she shook it off. "I'm fine."

"Hey." Oliver stood up from the couch, where he had been sitting with Chloe's feet in his lap.

"All fixed?" Clark nodded at his shoulder, and Oliver nodded. "What happened?"

"One of her minions attacked me with those gloves of hers. She must have given an extra costume to someone." He nodded at Lana, who grinned even more widely, but said nothing.

"Who are we waiting on?" Clark asked, and Chloe looked around at the assembled group. Bart, Victor, Dinah were all lazing about the room, and Bruce stood stiffly looking out the window.

"J'onn, Diana and Hal, by the looks of it." Oliver said. "They're on patrol."

Soon, the aforementioned heroes burst through the door, as they always did, and Lois had to roll her eyes at the outfit Diana was wearing. What had originally started as a modest skirt with a leotard underneath, had become just the leotard with a gold strapless bra worn on the outside. But, Lois would worry about Ms. Prince later.

The heroes formed a circle around Lana, and Lois stood on the outside, before Chloe dragged her into the circle.

"We're here to discuss the fate of Lana Lang, aka Selina Kyle, aka Catwoman." Chloe said to the crowd, and Diana rolled her eyes.

"We know that Watchtower, let's get on with what we're going to do with her."

Chloe gave an indignant huff and glared at the Amazonian, but continued. "The way I see it, we have two options. We can put her in the Phantom Zone, or we can erase her memory and lock her in Belle Reve. Does anyone else have any ideas?"

Silence reigned among the circle, and Clark finally spoke up. "I don't think the Phantom Zone is a viable option. She'll get killed in there, and do we really want her death on our hands?"

Lois opened her mouth, but then quickly shut it, but not before her cousin noticed.

"Do you have something to say, Girl Scout?"

Lois knew that Chloe was using her code name so that the rest of the League was aware of her inclusion, and she appreciated it. But, before she could say what she wanted to, Diana interrupted.

"Wait a minute, "Girl Scout"? You aren't saying that she's a part of our team are you?" She looked at Lois with such derision, that it made her want to sink into the floor.

"Yes, I am, Princess." Chloe spat out Diana's code name and glared at her.

"I thought this was a democracy, and I sure as hell didn't vote her in." Diana looked incredibly upset, and Bart and Victor, who stood on either side of her, looked extremely uncomfortable to even be associated with her.

"No, this is a League, that was started by Oliver Queen, and is run by Boy Scout and Green Arrow. You all were asked to become a part of this league by their invitation, and Lois has been extended the same invitation. Girl Scout was the one that helped us find Boy Scout when he was imprisoned, which reminds me, where the hell were you?"

Diana remained silent, and Chloe continued. "Now, what do you want to say, Girl Scout?" Chloe turned to look at Lois, her eyes blazing.

"I just wanted to say that, I know we don't want her death on our heads, but Jesus, Clark, she _killed_ you. Doesn't she deserve what she dished out?"

Lana, who had been looking at the league members that she could see, glared at Lois.

"No, Lois. Just because she killed me, doesn't mean that I get to kill her. This way, she won't remember anything and she can be out of our lives for good."

Lana grinned appreciatively at Clark, her eyes running up and down his body. "I knew you still cared for me, Clark."

That was all it took. Lois strode forward, and hauled her hand back, before smacking Lana squarely on the cheek as hard as she could. Hal Jordan rushed forward, and grabbed Lois's hand halfheartedly. Lois shook him off, and leaned forward into the other woman's face.

"If it were up to me, you would be dead in a ditch somewhere. Remember where you are, and don't you ever speak to him again, or I swear I will rip your tongue from your mouth and feed it to Shelby." Lois had dropped her voice to just above a whisper, and for the first time, Lana looked actually frightened.

Lois walked back to the circle, and so did Hal, who was grinning at her. She gave him a small smile, than put her serious face back on.

Bart cleared his throat and stepped forward. "I second Boy Scout's motion."

"All in favor?" Oliver said impatiently, and a chorus of "ayes" were returned.

"Good. Emil is waiting for her, he'll distribute the serum, and he'll drive her to Belle Reve." Chloe nodded at the door, and Emil walked in. He and Cyborg dragged her out of the room. And, just like that, she was gone.

Clark sagged in relief. She was really gone. The atmosphere around the circle visible relaxed. It suddenly hit Clark that there were only two people left who actually remembered what life was like during high school, before his life had been turned upside down. Pete was gone, doing only God knows what, Lana would have all of her memory erased and Lex was a completely different person-literally.

When had everything changed? Had it happened gradually, or had it been sudden? When he looked at Chloe, he saw his best friend who had been with him through thick and thin, but when had she stopped being the spunky girl who was in love with him? Now, she was this grown woman, married to Oliver Queen. He stared at her, wishing he could find the girl he used to know.

Chloe had relaxed as Lana was being dragged from the room, and she smiled at Oliver, who cleared his throat. "On a happier note, Watchtower and I have something to announce." Chloe moved closer to her husband, who threaded his arm across her shoulders. They looked the very picture of domestic bliss. It always astounded him how easily they could go from business, to casual conversation.

"I'm pregnant." Chloe grinned at all of them, and it seemed to take a whole of two seconds to sink in, and soon, Lois was leaping onto her cousin.

"Oh my God! How far along are you? When are you due? Do you know if it's a boy or a girl yet?"

"Whoa, slow down there Girl Scout." Oliver put an arm out to protect his wife from her over zealous cousin. "It's still in the early stages. We just found out yesterday."

"Congrats, guys." Bart rushed forward to shake Oliver's hand, and gave Chloe a one armed hug.

"Yeah, congrats."

A chorus of congratulations made its way around the circle and Chloe couldn't stop smiling.

Clark stepped forward, and wrapped his best friend in a hug. "Congratulations, Chloe."

"Thanks, Clark." Chloe grinned at him, then looked over at her husband, who grinned at her.

"Come on, Chloe, let's head home." Oliver wrapped his arm around her shoulders, and she smiled up at him. "I think we're done here."

Clark walked over to the couch and plopped down on it. The rest of the Justice League dispersed, returning to their undercover lives or patrol, except Diana, who remained in her spot, staring at Clark. Lois moved forward and sat down next to him, crossing her legs.

"You ok?"

"I'm great." He grinned at her, and looked at Diana, who was still standing and staring at him.

"Diana?"

She grinned ruefully at him, before nodding at him and walking out of Watchtower.

He swung his head around to face Lois, who was looking at the door that Diana Prince walked out, her eyes slightly narrowed.

"Let's go home, Lois. We have some packing to do."


	16. Chapter 16

A/N: Ok, hope you all enjoyed that last chapter. This chapter will (hopefully) be picking up a little, so enjoy!

* * *

Life with Clark Kent had its ebbs and flows, or at least, that's how it seemed to Lois. Though which times were the ebbs and which were the flows were sometimes hard to distinguish. Were the flows the quiet days? The peaceful moments in between missions and saves in which they moved boxes into their new apartment, pieced together furniture, and collapsed onto the couch after playing Just Dance 3 on the new Wii his mom had bought them? Or were the flows the times where she didn't see him for what seemed like days? He would go off on saves and patrol, and reporting, and while he certainly felt his life was flowing as swiftly as a river during these days, she felt like a stagnant pool. The nights that she had to sleep alone were the hardest. Those nights, Shelby would shimmy up the blankets, and press his icy nose to her neck. She would smooth her cheek against his golden fur, and doze off with his heat warming her, wishing Clark were there with her.

They had been in their new apartment for six months, and Lois was genuinely happy for the first time in what felt like ages. They were so close to the city, that even when Clark was away, it was easy to take up her time with shopping with her cousin, or convincing Hal to take her to a movie, or grabbing a coffee with Dinah. It had been hard to be friends with Dinah at first. The girl was so used to doing everything solo, and was rough around the edges. But they had soon become friends.

She had spent the last few months putting the final touches on her and Clark's office, which was down the hall from the master bedroom. Clark, of course, had assembled all of the furniture, but had dashed off on a save, leaving her to paint and lay rugs. The other bedroom was a guest bedroom for when Martha or the General came to visit. As they had finished it, Lois had found herself wondering if it would ever be a nursery.

The thought of having children was odd to her. She still didn't even feel old enough to be engaged, let alone have children. Ever since Chloe had announced her pregnancy, Lois had been torn. She would readily admit that she was a little jealous of Chloe. It was hard not to be, with Chloe's perfect home life. But, Chloe was still in the basement at the Star City Register, trying to work her way up to her own office. Her entire life she had compared herself to Chloe, and it was nice to be ahead of her perfect cousin for once. Every time she went out to a movie or went to the coffee shop, she pictured what her life would be like having to worry about naptime or diaper bags or a crying baby, and thanked God that she didn't have to worry about that. Not that she didn't want children, she definitely did-just not yet.

Lois finished applying her eyeliner and sat down nervously on the couch. Just as she was crossing her legs, the door to their apartment blew open and her fiancée came bustling in, adjusting his glasses and straightening his tie.

"Clark! Where have you been? We're late!" She popped up from the couch and walked over to him, wrapping her arms around his shoulders, and getting a huge whiff of smoke.

"I know, I know, there was a fire on 81st street that I had to put out." He grinned sheepishly at her, and she reached up to wipe away a smudge of soot off of his nose.

"Are you ready?" He asked, placing his hands on her shoulders, and she walked over to the kitchen table and grabbed the blue wrapped gift that lay on it. She walked back over to her fiancée, who cradled her gently in his arms.

In a blink of an eye they were in Watchtower. An eight month pregnant Chloe sat on a couch, her husband next to her, a protective hand placed on her stomach. Lois smiled at the image of domestic family bliss that was presented to them. She thrust the gift into Clark's hands and plopped down next to her cousin and gave her a huge hug, before placing a hand next to Oliver's.

"And how is my little cousin?" She leaned an ear down to Chloe's abdomen, as if the baby would answer her.

Chloe smiled. "Robert is fine, although he doesn't seem to sleep at the appropriate times of the day." She grinned at Clark, who was standing in front of her, one hand in a pocket and the other arm cradling the gift.

"How are you guys?" She looked at Lois who smiled.

"Great, couldn't be better."

Chloe carefully examined her cousin's face, and was instantly suspicious when she refused to meet her eyes.

"Are you sure?"

"Of course! When is everyone else getting here?" Lois looked around the room and her cousin sighed.

"Any minute."

Lois bounded up from the couch and grabbed the gift from Clark. She thrust it at Chloe, who smiled.

"Should I open it now?" Chloe asked, and Lois nodded enthusiastically.

Powder blue paper went flying and a simple box sat in the blonde's lap. She opened the box to reveal a soft green baby sling with a silver buckle to hold it in place.

"It's for when you have to go out on the beat and can't find a babysitter." Lois said, grinning.

"I love it." Chloe hugged her cousin, who squealed.

"Oh my God! I felt him!" Lois's hand went to Chloe's stomach again, who sighed, but smiled.

Oliver untangled himself from his wife and walked over to his friend, and they shook hands.

"How's it going, man?"

"Good, good. The first trimester was rough, but everything's going pretty good now." Oliver stood next to his friend, and they looked at their women together.

Clark watched as Lois talked to her cousin animatedly, making wide sweeping movements with her arms. He assumed that they were discussing plans for the nursery that was being decorated in the Queen mansion. e felt He He felt a pang of jealousy, mixed with regret. He knew that Lois wasn't ready to have a baby. Hell, they weren't even married. And yet, he wished it were Lois who was sitting on the couch, her belly discretely touching her thighs. He didn't even know if they could have children, although if the Kawatche and Conner were any clue, he suspected that they could. But there were so many risks involved. What if the baby had his strength from the very beginning, and hurt her? How could he expect to raise a child, be Superman and continue working? It would be almost impossible for a young child to keep his secret, which meant hiding his powers around someone he cared very deeply for.

"Clark?" Lois was looking at him, concerned. "Did you hear what I said?"

"No, sorry. I was off in my own little world." He grinned at her and she sighed.

"Some guys are bringing the baby furniture that Chloe and I bought at Pottery Barn Kids. Could you bring it up to the penthouse?"

"Hey! I can do that!" Oliver said indignantly.

Chloe lifted a hand from her stomach and dismissed her husband's statement. "Yeah, but you'll bitch about it the whole time, whereas Clark won't."

Oliver gave a snort of derision, and Clark laughed. "Sure, when is it?"

"Tomorrow at three." Chloe smiled at him in relief. "Thanks, Clark."

"No problem." He stared at the small group and asked, "So when do these infamous baby shower games start?"

* * *

Lois flopped down on their couch, spent from an afternoon of excitement. Clark sat down next to her, draping his arm across the back of the couch. He was still flushed with embarrassment, and she laughed.

He huffed in indignation, and he said, "You know, there's a reason why guys aren't invited to baby showers."

"Well, it was pretty funny when you pinned the sperm on the egg on your first try." She grinned at him, and he blushed again.

"Clark, relax. It was funny."

"No, it was awkward, especially since my mom was the one that planned all the games."

Lois shook her head ruefully and reached for the remote to turn on the television. They sat in silence for a few moments, watching as the jingle for the evening news came on.

"Lois, can I ask you something?"

"You already did." She grinned at him, but when she noticed the serious look on his face, it slid off. "Sure. What's up?"

"Do you want a baby?" The question took her by complete surprise, and she stilled completely in his arms.

"Do you?" She looked into his eyes and wasn't sure what she saw there.

"Eventually." He shrugged.

"Me too."

Silence fell over them again, and this time it was Lois who broke it.

"Why did you want to know?"

"It's just…odd, seeing Chloe and Oliver having a baby. I don't feel old enough to be having kids."

"I feel the same way." She smiled at him and straddled his lap, pulling his glasses from his face and setting them on the side table next to the couch.

"If we had kids, I couldn't seduce you in our living room whenever I wanted."

He grinned and she placed a kiss on his lips, sweeping her tongue along the seam of his mouth. He opened his mouth, and she swirled her tongue in the heated cavern of his mouth. Clark groaned and ran his fingers through her hair before resting his hands on her shoulders. He wrapped his arms around her, letting them slide under her shirt, unhooking her bra with a flick of his fingers. His hands danced across her ribcage, running up her flat stomach to cup her breasts, running his thumbs across her nipples.

Lois pulled her mouth away his, and his lips went straight to her neck. He pulled her shirt up over her head, and her bra slid forward on her arms, and he pulled it off, tossing it on the floor. His tongue made a trail from her neck to the hollow of her collarbone, then down to a breast. He twirled his tongue around the nipple, before sucking gently. She groaned and he felt the rumbling of her chest against his lips.

Clark pulled his head away to look up at her. Her eyes were dark, and she was panting. The wet line that his tongue had made gleamed in the light.

"Bedroom. Now." She wrapped her arms around his neck, and in a blur, she was spread out on the clean sheets of their bed. She stared up at him, and he looked like he was about ready to devour a feast. He grabbed one of the feather pillows and slid it under her behind, dragging down her skirt and panties.

"Things are awfully uneven here," she said, smiling. He grinned, and she sat up, yanking his dress shirt from where it was tucked into his pants. His hands came up and covered hers. He ripped the shirt off, small white buttons flew in every direction, and Lois heard the light clacking noise that meant the buttons had hit the floorboards.

She laughed. "A little eager?"

"Just a bit."

Her hands went to his belt, and she undid it, throwing that on the floor as well. His erection was throbbing through the thin dress pants, and she dragged the zipper down. Lois ran her hands under his underwear, and in a flash, the navy boxer briefs and his pants were next to his belt on the floor. He laid her back down on the bed, and she spread her knees as far as she could. His cock nudged at her entrance, and he allowed just the tip to slide in.

She groaned and he slid in until their pelvises met. Her hands raked down his impermeable back, then cupped his buttocks, forcing him to go deeper. Clark pressed his body into hers, letting his face settle into her neck.

"Lois." Her name hissed from his lips. "I'm not going to last."

"It's ok. Come for me." She allowed her hips to meet his with every thrust. His breath was hot and fast against her neck. His eyes were closed tight, and she ran her hand through his silky black locks, tugging on his hair. He came with a gasp and a shudder. He stilled on top of her, and then rolled off of her, resting his head on her chest.

They laid in silence, and Lois sighed when she felt his breathing even out. She was glad that he was feeling better, but she was a little disappointed that he had finished and fallen asleep. _Oh well. It happens._ She closed her eyes, the feeling of Clark's even breathing lulled her to sleep.

* * *

Clark stretched out under the sheet, feeling his feet drape over the end of the bed. He glanced over and was surprised to see that he was completely alone in bed. He could hear the shower running, but almost as soon as he registered the noise, it was turned off. A minute later, he heard Lois's blow drier turn on, and he was comforted by the sound.

He ran a hand through his hair and decided that he could hold off on showering until he got home from work. He walked over to the closet, and noticed that Lois had hung up the clothes that had littered the floor the night before. Clark stared at the clothes as he thought of last night. A guilty feeling had settled in the pit of his stomach. He selected a black suit and black tie and a white shirt. He missed wearing colorful shirts and ties. "The peppermint tie" as Lois called it hung forlornly on his tie rack. Clark pulled on his work clothes just as Lois emerged from the bathroom, her hair pulled back in a tight bun. She wore a baby blue dress shirt underneath a charcoal skirt suit.

"Good morning." She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him lightly.

Clark wrapped his arms around her waist to prevent her from moving. "Lois…I'm sorry about last night."

She sighed, but smiled at him. "Clark, there's nothing to apologize for. You'll just have to make it up to me next time." She smiled cheekily at him, and he blushed.

"Come on Superman. It's time to get to work."

* * *

Lois walked into the Daily Planet, sans fiancée. On their way out of the door, he had heard a mugging on Arsenal Street, and had dashed off. She walked into their office, and draped her messenger bag over the back of her office chair. The files sitting on her desk had seemed to grow since she had seen it last.

A lot of these stories had died. She wanted something different. She was sick of covering murders and muggings. It was nice covering Clark's saves, but sometimes it felt like she wasn't the one writing the articles. That was a big reason why she had volunteered to cover the Bruno Manheim case. He had been released from prison a few months ago, and he already appeared to be up to no good. She opened up Microsoft Word and began putting the finishing touches on the article.

There was a light knock on the door, and without looking up she called, "Come in."

The door opened, and Lois looked up from her computer. She was so shocked, she almost fell out of her chair.

"Mr. Luthor."

"Hello Miss Lane." He stepped into the office. His hands were shoved easily in his pockets, and he had an easygoing smile on his face. She was surprised by how kind he looked.

Luthor laughed at her shell-shocked face. "I'm sorry to disturb you, but may I have a few minutes of your time?"

"Sure." She gestured over to the dark loveseat her and Clark had put in the office, and he sat down on it gracefully. Lois scooted in her chair until she was sitting across from him.

"What can I do for you, Mr. Luthor?" She knew she shouldn't be trusting Lex Luthor, but ever since Tess had erased his memory, he had stayed out of the public eye, and he had gone out of his way to publicly show his support for the Justice League. Clark thought it was all a hoax, a way to make him appear more likeable, but Lois wasn't so sure. Lex had been given an opportunity to completely start over, with no memories to hold him down. He could become anyone he wanted to be, and hadn't he and Clark been best friends once? There had to be some good in him, or else Clark wouldn't have bothered to even get to know him. So, perhaps he was able to become the good person who Clark had once seen.

Lex crossed his legs, and leaned forward. "Well, as you know, I've tried to stay out of the newspapers and magazines ever since my accident." He rubbed his bald head subconsciously, and Lois remembered that after Tess had taken away his memory, he had been told that it was a car accident that had stolen his memories, and he had easily believed it.

"Yes, I heard about that. I was so sorry to hear about your car crash," she said sympathetically.

"Yes, well, it happens. Anyway, I have been trying to restructure LuthorCorp. As you know, LuthorCorp has been a subsidiary of Queen Industries, and I've been slowly piecing together my company. I'd like you to write an article about LuthorCorp, discussing our new company and our charitable organizations and such." He waved his hand dismissively.

Lois was silent for a few moments as she considered her options. She carefully weighed her options. Lex hadn't done anything in years. She had been keeping up with LuthorCorp, and there had been no suspicious activity since he had lost his memory. However, Clark would probably murder her if she agreed, but this might be the article she was looking for.

Finally, she nodded. Lex relaxed and smiled at her.

"Would you like to conduct the interview now, Mr. Luthor?" She rummaged in her bag for her little tape recorder and he laughed.

"Please, call me Lex. Let me clear my schedule, and we'll do dinner." He pulled out a small planner and a pen. "Does Thursday work for you?"

She looked at her desk calendar. "Sure."

"Great. Come to LuthorCorp at seven on Thursday." He stood, shaking the wrinkles from his fine wool pants and smiled at her.

Lois stood as Lex moved to the door. She reached for the door and he brushed her off. "I've got it." He stepped across the threshold, and Lois stood behind him in the doorway.

"Have a good day, Miss Lane." He nodded at her and turned to leave, bumping right into none other than Clark Kent.


	17. Chapter 17

A/N: Ok, I know I said the last chapter would pick up a little bit, but that was a lie. Sorry. I didn't intentionally lie to you, it's just-sometimes, the characters have a mind of their own. This was definitely not where I was going with this chapter, but there you have it.

* * *

"Mr. Luthor." Clark stopped in his tracks at the sight of Lex Luthor emerging from his and Lois's office.

"You must be Mr. Kent. How are you?" Lex extended his hand, and Clark stiffly shook it.

"Good, how are you?" Lois watched as Clark became "Clark Kent-mild mannered reporter". He slumped a little, appearing shorter than he actually was. His suit was sufficiently rumpled and his voice was soft. Lex looked from Lois to Clark, and she could tell that he was wondering what Lois saw in him.

"Very well. Miss Lane, I will see you on Thursday." He nodded at Lois who smiled. Then, in a whirl of lavender silk and Armani pants, he was gone. Clark walked into the office, closing the door behind him.

Clark was watching her and she knew this. She sat down at her computer and began typing.

"Lois." She looked up when he said her name, and she immediately wished she hadn't. His eyes were narrowed over his glasses and she really thought he would set her on fire.

"Yes, Clark?" She batted her eyelashes innocently, and his eyes narrowed further.

"Why was Lex Luthor here?"

She sighed. "He came to see me. He wants me to write an article about LuthorCorp and how he's turning the company around and the charitable contributions he's made and whatever." She waved her hand dismissively, but he continued to stare at her.

"You said no, right?"

"Of course I didn't say no, Clark!" She was irritated now. How dare he try and tell her what to do? "This is a really good opportunity to advance my career, particularly since he hasn't offered any interviews to the press since he lost his memory." She grabbed a random paper off of her desk. "I have to go make a copy." She breezed from the room, and was halfway to the copier when she realized he was following her.

Lois stepped up to the copier. Clark closed the door to the copier room and lowered his voice.

"Lois, you can't be serious. You know how dangerous he is."

"Was, Clark. Was." She pressed the green button on the copier and he sighed.

"You don't know that he isn't still dangerous!" He exploded. "I forbid you to go."

As soon as the words left his mouth, he knew he had made a mistake. "Forbid me?" She squared her shoulders and turned to look at him. He flinched at the fire that was burning in her eyes.

"You can't forbid me to do anything, Clark. Newsflash-you aren't my father. The general couldn't even order me to not go to this." She grabbed her copy and stomped from the room.

"Lois, I didn't mean it like that." He said after her retreating back.

"No, you meant it _exactly_ like that." She whipped around and poked him in the chest. "Just because we're engaged, doesn't mean you can order me around, Clark Kent."

She started walking, but whipped around again. "Don't even try to talk me out of it. I'm going. End of discussion." She walked away, retreating back to their office, slamming the door behind her.

Clark sighed. Suddenly, Cat Grant popped up by his elbow.

"Fight with the fiancée, huh?" She had that stupid grin on her face, and he wanted to punch her in the face.

"Not really. I have to go." He followed Lois into the office and closed the door gently.

"Lois, I'm sorry I said that." He said, following Lois with his eyes. She was pacing around the office angrily, shoving her things into her messenger bag.

"You better be." She sighed and sat down at her desk. "Look, I love you. I really do. But love is also about trusting the other person. Just like I trusted that you would one day tell me your secret."

The comparison stung, but he nodded. "You're right. But I'm going to be on top of the Daily Planet building while you're having your meeting with him. I need to be right there in case he pulls anything."

Lois bobbed her head in assent. "I wouldn't expect anything less." She smiled at him, and he heaved a sigh.

"Now, shouldn't you be heading over to Chloe and Oliver's? Didn't you say you would move baby furniture?"

Clark groaned. "I did say that, didn't I?"

"Yep. Get moving buster." He stood and she beamed at him. "I'll see you for dinner?

"Sure thing. See you tonight." He breezed from the room, and she shook her head.

* * *

"I just don't see why she wants to interview him." Clark sat with Chloe in the baby's nursery, the pieces of the crib were laid out in front of her, and she just looked at him.

"Clark, you have to understand that Lois has always put her career first, and any chance she can get to advance her career, she's going to do it. Plus, he hasn't done anything evil in the last two years. Maybe Tess's memory wipe was a good thing. He had the chance to completely start over, and maybe he changed for the better." Chloe shrugged and picked up a dark wood bar. "I have no idea where this goes."

He sat there, staring off into space until Chloe got his attention.

"Would you mind?" She handed him the instruction book. He flipped through it, his eyes moving like lightning.

"Ok, watch out." He spread his arms and Chloe retreated to the doorway. In a whirl, the crib was assembled. She smiled.

"I knew there was a reason we kept you around." She punched his shoulder playfully.

"Well, I am good for some things."

"Clark, relax. She'll be fine." Chloe ripped open a box and pulled some blue organic cotton sheets out.

"I hope so."

* * *

Lois walked into LuthorCorp, her bag slung over her shoulder. She was still clad in the work outfit that she had put on that morning. Clark had followed her around all morning. It had been more than a little annoying. Twice she had snapped at him, but had apologized immediately. She knew that he was just worried, but he really had no need to be. There was no way he could do anything to her without calling attention to himself.

Perry had almost had heart palpitations when he heard that Lois had landed an interview with Lex Luthor. "Great Caesar's ghost, Lane! Why didn't you bother telling me this before?"

"Perry, he just came in and talked to me." She had sat down across from his desk, and he nodded.

"Well, good job, Lane. Make sure a copy lands on my desk Friday morning." He had picked up a paper, and then shouted, "Grant! Get in here!"

"Yes, Perry?" Cat stuck her head in, and Lois had taken that as her cue to leave.

Now, here she was, walking into LuthorCorp to interview Lex Luthor. She showed her press badge to the security guard at the door, who nodded and waved her through.

She took the elevator to the top floor, and knocked gently on the black double doors.

"Come in!"

Lois pushed open a door and saw Lex sitting behind his desk. His laptop was closed in front of him, and a bottle of wine and two glasses sat beside it.

"Mr. Luthor, how are you." She walked forward and extended her hand.

"Really Miss Lane, I told you to call me Lex." He shook her hand with a smile and she relaxed.

"Only if you'll call me Lois."

"Sounds like a deal to me." He gestured to a very comfy looking sofa. "Please, sit. Would you like a glass of wine?"

She arranged herself on the couch, setting her bag on the floor next to her. "Please."

Lex uncorked the bottle and began pouring a light white wine into two beautifully engraved glasses. Lois pulled out her mini tape recorder and set it on the glass coffee table. He handed her the wine, and she took a sip. It was Moscato, her favorite.

"So, Mr. Luthor-" Lois started.

"Please, call me Lex."

"Alright. Lex, first off, do you mind if I tape our conversation?" She gestured to the tape recorder. "It just makes it easier when I'm typing up the article."

"Of course."

She leaned forward and flipped the tape recorder on, blowing into it. "This is Lois Lane of the Daily Planet interviewing Lex Luthor of LuthorCorp."

Lois leaned back and crossed her legs. "So Lex, why did you want an article written about LuthorCorp?"

"Well, a lot of people have a bad opinion of LuthorCorp and the Luthor name, and my goal has been to change all that. Despite the good work my company has been doing, people still associate LuthorCorp with the way it was under my father." He took another sip of wine and Lois nodded.

"So what changes have been made?"

"Well, the merger between LuthorCorp and Queen Industries was a sticky one, with a lot of legal work left undone. That meant that I was able to purchase the LuthorCorp name back from Oliver Queen, and also resume business as usual. However, some massive restructuring was needed. My father tended to do a lot of his business in back alleys, which is something I find reprehensible." He grinned at her. "I like doing business out in the open."

"Does LuthorCorp still specialize in biotechnology, communications and pesticides?"

"You've done your research Miss Lane."

Lois smiled at him. "Please, call me Lois."

"Well, Lois, yes we do still specialize in those things, but we also have recently received a massive government contract researching biological weapons."

"Does your company still research meteor rocks?"

Lex waved his hand. "Not really, no. They do amazing things to crops, but we've turned towards more environmentally friendly pesticides to help crops grow. I see no reason to possibly poison the American people, particularly when not very much research has been done on the meteor rocks."

"Is there anything else you'd like me to include in the article?"

He thought about this question carefully. "Yes. LuthorCorp has made great strides in our charity work. We've started our own branch of the Make-A-Wish Foundation, which focuses on adults who have been diagnosed with fatal diseases, as well as children. It's a project that is particularly near and dear to my heart." He smiled ruefully. "Now that our stock is back up, I've also decided to change the name of LuthorCorp, to LexCorp, in order to show my shareholders that I'm not my father."

"Well, Lex, I think I have everything I need." Lois clicked off the recorder and finished her wine in one gulp.

"You fascinate me, Lois." Lex leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees.

"And why is that, Lex?" Lois asked, almost enjoying the playful banter.

"Well, you're obviously a strong woman, the world at her feet, and yet you're with Clark Kent, a reporter who seems to have climbed the later by hooking himself onto your star." At these words, Lois stiffened.

"Clark is a very talented reporter."

"I find his work to be mediocre at best, however, since you hold him in such high esteem, I shall try to think better of him." Lex smiled easily, and Lois relaxed now that the talk had moved away from Clark. "Now, shall we have dinner? It's waiting for us downstairs in the company dining room."

"Of course." She stood and followed him to the elevator.

* * *

Clark hovered a few inches above the rotating Daily Planet sign on top of the building. It was easy to see Lois and Lex from this point of view, and it was hard for him not to crash through the window, scoop Lois up in his arms and fly her home where she would be safe. Instead, she was in the lion's den. Throughout the whole interview, he had watched and listened. Lex seemed full of shit to him, but Lois seemed to be enjoying herself. He often forgot that Lois had missed out on a lot of the things Lex had pulled when they had been younger.

He watched as they moved into a dining room and began to eat. A soft thump sounded right next to him, and he jumped about a foot into the air. Diana had landed on the moving Daily Planet globe and was now walking against it's turn, softly padding across the gold surface in her red boots.

"Hello, Diana," he said wearily.

"Clark. I thought I'd find you here." She nodded towards the building across from them. "Any movement?"

"No. It's weird." He crossed his legs and sat Indian style.

"Well, I guess he really did want that interview." Diana shrugged, and Clark glared at her.

For fifteen minutes, the only noise that was made was the movement of Diana's boots across the gleaming gold surface of the globe. They watched as Lois and Lex began their main courses.

"Can I ask you something?" Diana had stopped walking and was now floating in the air with him, looking down on him.

"Sure." He remained where he was, his eyes trained on the room.

"Why are you with her?" She said it so bluntly that he almost fell out of the sky.

"Why do you want to know?" He eyed her suspiciously, and she shrugged, not meeting his gaze.

"It's just…you could be with anyone. You're Superman for Christ's sake. And yet, you choose to be with a bossy little human." She didn't say it with anger or jealousy, she just said it as a fact, and that was what shocked him the most.

"Diana, have you ever been in love?"

She sighed. "Yes."

"Was he human?"

"Yes."

"Then you know." He nodded. "You see their faults, and you love them just the same. Yes, Lois can be bossy, but she's also kind, considerate, funny, and loving."

She nodded, but he wasn't really sure if she understood.

"Well, I'll let you get back to stalking your fiancée." She took off into the sky, and in seconds, she was gone.

Clark turned his eyes back to LuthorCorp.

* * *

Lois walked out of the building, feeling slightly buzzed. All in all, it had been a fairly good evening. She had gotten a pretty good interview, plus had sampled some of the best of food that Metropolis had to offer. She walked home, knowing that Clark was several hundred feet above her, following her every move.

She took the elevator up to their floor, unlocked the door and stepped into their apartment.

Clark was sitting on the couch in his pajama pants, a newspaper propped open in front of him. She smiled at the sight. Seconds ago he was following her through the streets of Metropolis, and now he was putting such effort into making her think that he hadn't been following her.

"How was it?" He asked as she sat next to him, sliding under his arm and forcing him to put the paper down.

She stared up at him, and he looked away guiltily. "As if you didn't already know the answer to that question."

He sighed. "I just didn't want you to be alone in there tonight, alright?" He was already on the defensive, and Lois sighed.

"Clark, I'm not mad at you. I understand. I think it's cute." She snuggled up to his bare chest and he visibly relaxed.

"You do?"

"I do." She grinned and kissed him before standing up. "Well, I have to get started on that article. Perry wants it on his desk in the morning."

"Lois, it's nine o'clock."

"I know, I know. I'm going to be up late." She sighed at the clock. "I'm going to get changed and then put on a pot of coffee, but you go to bed. Wake me up at eight, will you?"

"Sure thing, Lo." He stood and stretched, dropped a kiss on the top of her head and within fifteen minutes, he was sound to sleep.

* * *

Clark awoke, once again, to an empty bed. He guessed he shouldn't be surprised, it happened often enough. But, he still wished Lois had come to bed at some point.

He clambered out of bed and went into their kitchen. An empty pot of coffee sat on the black granite countertop and there was a plate in the sink. He walked down the hall to the office and saw Lois still sitting at her desk. Her head was resting on her arms, and Microsoft Word was still open on her computer. A coffee cup was sticking to a piece of paper, and had left a brown ring on it.

Clark carefully reached around her, scrolling through the article quickly. He corrected a few misspellings as quietly as he could, added a sentence of his own at the end to tie it up, and then shook her awake.

"Lois, honey, wake up. It's eight." He shook her shoulder, and she bolted awake.

"Oh my God, I didn't finish!" She screeched, and he covered his ears. Her eyes were moving between the computer and the printer frantically.

"Lois, relax. I spell checked it for you and added a sentence at the end. You're good. Read it over then send it to Perry." He patted her gently on the back and Lois groaned, dropping her head onto her arms.

He left her like this at her desk, plodding into the kitchen to put on a fresh pot of coffee. When it was finished, he poured two cups, splashed creamer into one and carried them into the office.

Lois was already asleep, her head resting on her arms. A small puddle of drool had already formed on her forearm, and Clark laughed at the sight. At the sound of his voice, her head shot up and she looked dazedly around.

Once the cup of coffee was in her hands, her whole body seemed to curl around the warmth that was radiating from the cup. She sipped it gratefully and turned back to her computer. A quick click and the article sent to Perry. Another click and the hard copy was sitting in her printer.

She took another sip of her coffee, and she could practically feel the caffeine rushing through her system. "How much do you love me?" She batted her eyelashes at her fiancée and he narrowed his eyes.

"Why?"

The look of innocence on her face almost made him laugh out loud. "Because I would kill for a maple doughnut right now."

He smiled, and in about a minute, he was standing in their office, fully dressed for work and holding a pink cardboard box. She opened the box with a squeal, and he smiled.

"Sorry it took so long, there was a bit of a line." He grabbed an apricot bear claw out of the box, and they ate in silence.

"Well, I guess we should be getting to work." Lois shoved the rest of her doughnut in her mouth, and walked from the room. His eyes followed her, resting on her behind.

"I know what you're doing." She turned around and smiled at him, and he mimicked her, batting his eyelashes innocently.

"What?"

With a laugh, she was chased from the room and into the bedroom.

He tackled her onto the bed, the rumpled sheets creasing under their weight. Lois groaned. "We're going to be late for work, aren't we?"


	18. Chapter 18

Disclaimer: I don't own any of these characters-in case you forgot

* * *

Lois clutched the hard copy of her Lex Luthor interview in her hand so hard that the paper was rippled where her fingers dug into the copy. She tapped on the ornate glass window of Perry's office door.

"Come in!" Perry shouted at her, and she pushed open the door. The editor sat in his high backed chair, leafing through copies of articles, a cigar clutched in his hand and his graying hair slicked back.

"Perry, I have that copy of the Luthor article." She waved it at him and then placed it on his keyboard.

"I've already read the copy that you sent to me, Lane." He tapped the copy with two fingers and took a drag off of his cigar.

"Well?" She sat down across from him, her fingers knotting together.

"I think it's pandering."

"What?" She leaned back in shock.

"Look, Lane. Luthor just wants you to print what he wants out there, and I think it's great that you were able to get him to do an interview, but you don't really delve that deeply. What's he been doing for the last two years?"

"Well, he says in the interview-he's been busy restructuring the company."

Perry raised his eyebrows so high, they almost disappeared into his hair. "You actually believe that?"

Lois considered this question for a few moments. "I'm not sure. But I think the public wants to know what Luthor's been doing for the last two years, and it's comforting to believe that he's been doing nothing but restructuring his company."

He heaved a sigh. "I guess. I just don't know if I actually trust him. He did some pretty awful things, a lot of them you actually wrote articles on." He stood and pulled a file from an iron colored filing cabinet. "33.1, the flood at the dam in Smallville, even speculation that he murdered his father."

"I think we need to give him the benefit of the doubt, Perry." Lois shrugged.

"Alright, Lane." He stubbed out his cigar. "Jeff! Jeff! JEFF!" Finally, the intern opened the door and stuck his head in. "Great Caesar's ghost, Jeff! What do I have to do to get you to work, here?"

The intern smiled sheepishly. "Sorry, Chief."

"Whatever, take this down to the printer." He waved the copy at tall man, who grabbed it from him.

"Whatever you say, Chief."

"Stop calling me 'Chief'!" He glared at Lois who grinned at him.

When Perry had been made editor, Lois had been reminded of the time they had been working together in Africa, and had immediately started calling him 'Chief'. The entirety of the Daily Planet had followed Lois's lead and done the same thing.

"Ok, I'm headed back to my office, Chief." Lois stood and smoothed her skirt.

"Lane, make sure you turn in your copy of the Manheim article tomorrow!" Perry shouted after her, but she ignored him.

"Lane." He called after her. "LANE!" As the door closed, Lois heard him shout, "Great Caesar's ghost! Does anyone listen to me around here?"

Lois made a beeline for her and Clark's office. He was sitting at his desk, his cell phone pressed between his shoulder and his ear. His glasses were almost all the way down to the tip of his nose, and his fingers were flying across his keyboard.

"Uh huh. Sure I'll tell her." He put his phone down, and looked up at her. "Call Chloe."

"Ok." She sat down at her desk and picked up her phone, punching in her cousin's number.

It rang about three times before Chloe picked up. "Hello?"

"Hey, coz. You called?" Lois leaned back in her chair, slumping down.

"Yeah…could you come over?" She sounded like she'd been crying.

"Is everything ok?"

"Yeah, could you just come over, please? And bring a pint of Chunky Monkey?"

"Sure, I'm on my way." Lois stood. Clark was peering questioningly at her. "Chloe wants me to come over with some Chunky Monkey. I'll be back in a few."

"Alright. Call me if you need anything." He went back to typing and she nodded.

* * *

When Lois arrived at the Queen penthouse, she was immediately ushered into the master bedroom. Her cousin was propped up on several pillows, her laptop balanced on her knees. She looked at her forlornly.

She kicked off her heels and climbed up the sheets, lying down next to the blonde. She waved the Chunky Monkey in the air, and pulled two plastic spoons from her pocket. Soon, the lid was ripped off and both women were digging into the frozen treat with gusto.

"Now, why don't you tell me what's wrong?" Lois asked, licking the back of her spoon.

Chloe sighed. "I went to the doctor yesterday…I have preeclampsia."

Lois stiffened. "What does that mean? Is Bobby ok?" She placed a hand on her cousin's belly, and Chloe nodded.

"It just means I have high blood pressure, but it's pretty serious. I have to be on complete bed rest until he's born." She put her hand next to Lois's.

"That sucks." Lois looked at her sympathetically and Chloe nodded.

"Anyway, is there anyway you could stay with me a few days a week?" Chloe batted her eyelashes at her cousin and Lois sighed, but grinned.

"Of course. I can probably take Thursdays and Fridays off. I'll come by and we'll watch action movies and eat more Chunky Monkey." Lois smiled at her and Chloe grinned.

"Thanks, coz. You're the best." Chloe sighed in relief and sank down into the feather eiderdown.

* * *

Lois finally left Chloe's when Oliver came home from work. He had walked into the bedroom and smiled at the image that greeted him. Chloe was sound to sleep, her head resting on her cousin's shoulder. Lois was propped up against the headboard, a People magazine open in her lap, Iron Man 2 playing on the television.

She smiled at him, and slipped from the bed, quickly replacing a pillow under Chloe's head. She grabbed her stuff, and pulled him out into the hallway. Oliver allowed himself to be dragged. He looked distinctly bedraggled.

"Where've you been all day?" Lois asked, placing her hands on her hips.

He sighed. "I had a business meeting in Gotham and Bruce convinced me to stay for a few drinks. I tried to get out as soon as I could."

"Oh, ok, well I just wanted to let you know that I'll be coming by on Thursdays and Fridays to sit with Chloe so she doesn't get too bored. "

"What?" Oliver looked shocked. "Did she ask you to do that?"

"Yeah." Lois was confused. Hadn't Oliver known that Chloe would be asking her to stay?

"Why didn't she just ask me if I could take some time off of work?"

"Well, I'm sure she just didn't want to trouble you. After all, you are the CEO of Queen Industries, and I'm just a lowly Daily Planet reporter."

His frown grew deeper. "I could've taken some time off."

"Oh well." Lois shrugged. "I don't mind."

"That's not the point. Why didn't she ask me?"

"Look, Ollie, she loves you, but she can't be around you the entire time. She's going to kill you if she spends too much time with you. She needs to see friends too, and I'm a friend." Lois pulled on her blazer. "Will you tell her I'll call her?"

"Sure." He opened the door to their bedroom.

"And go easy on her, ok? She wasn't trying to hurt your feelings. She was trying to make things easier on you." She grabbed her bag.

"Alright, alright. Goodnight, Lois." He smiled at her and she left. As she walked out of their building, the doorman called her a cab and gave the cabbie her address. She smiled and slipped him a five.

"Thanks, Ted."

"Sure thing, Miss Lane. See you later." He tipped his hat at her and she slid across the leather seat. Closing her eyes, she leaned her head back. Perry was already pissed off at her for missing so much work, she wasn't sure if she could finagle getting two days off a week, but she sure as hell was going to try. Perry definitely owed her a favor. Last year when he had fired one of the interns, she had picked up the slack. She just hoped that he still believed he owed her a favor. After all the work she'd been missing lately, she doubted it, but she was still going to try.

"Miss? We're here." The cabbie was turned around and looking at her, and the cab was idling at the front of her building.

"Oh, sorry. How much do I owe you?"

"Ten dollars and thirty-five cents." He said after glancing at the meter.

She reached her manicured hand into her messenger bag, rummaging around in her bag. The battered Vera Wang wallet that Clark had bought her for her birthday one year ago held a few tens and a few fives. She pulled one of each out and handed it to him. "Keep the change."

"Thanks." He nodded at her and she slid back across the leather, opening the door and stepping out onto the sidewalk. She stood in the cold, looking up at her and Clark's window. It was open despite the cold, and the light drapes were fluttering in the window.

"Miss Lane." Lex Luthor was suddenly right next to her. It was as if he had popped up from the ground. She jumped almost a foot in the air and he laughed.

"I'm sorry, did I startle you?"

"Just a little." She laughed nervously. "And didn't I tell you to call me Lois?"

"Yes. Yes, you did." He smiled at her. "Well, I just wanted to say thank you for getting the article published." He was clutching a newspaper in his hand. It was the evening edition of the Daily Planet, and the front page read "Lex Luthor Finally Speaks Out".

"Oh. Uh, your welcome." She bobbed her head at him. "But doesn't Lex Luthor normally just send a note or have a butler do this kind of stuff for him?"

"Yes, Lex Luthor normally does. But, Lex doesn't." He grinned at her. "I like you Lois, you're blunt and honest."

"Well I'm glad."

The door to her building squeaked open and Clark stood in the doorway, his glasses balanced precariously on his nose. He was already in a pair of blue striped pajamas, and his arms were crossed across his chest to protect him from the cold, despite the fact that he didn't really need to be protected from anything.

"Lois, are you ok? Oh. Hello, Mr. Luthor." He acted surprised to see Lex standing there, but Lois knew that he had seen her and Lex standing on the sidewalk in a pool of light made by the streetlamp and had rushed down to protect her.

"Good to see you again, Mr. Kent." He bounded up the stairs to the doorway and the two men shook hands.

"You too."

Lex walked back down the stairs and stood across from Lois. "Well, I better head back to my apartment. Thanks again, Lois."

"Sure thing. Good night."

"Night."

Lex walked away into the night, the black of the city seemingly swallowing him whole. She trudged up the stairs, and Clark opened the door further to let her in. She brushed by his warm body, and stood in the door with him. The heat rolling off of him was calming. She laid her head on his pec, closing her eyes. His arms wrapped around her, and he brought a hand up to her hair, stroking her hair.

His lips went to her hair. "Are you ok?"

She nodded then looked up at him. "Chloe's on bed rest until Bobby's born."

"Really? Why?"

"Preeclampsia."

"So what are you going to do?" He pulled her hair away from her neck and she sighed.

"I told her I'd stay with her on Thursdays and Fridays so she doesn't get bored."

He nodded. "You think Perry'll let you have Thursdays and Fridays off for the next few weeks?"

Lois sighed. "I don't know. I hope so. I'm going to try and cash in that favor he owes me."

"The intern favor?"

"Yep." She scrunched up her nose. "Can we go inside, now? I'm cold."

"Sure thing." He ushered her into the lobby. The night doorman, Carlo, was standing by the giant desk, his hate perched at a jaunty angle.

"Hi, Carlo." She waved at him and he smiled at her.

They entered the elevator in silence. Lois looked down at Clark's bare feet and she wrapped an arm around his waist. He pressed a kiss to the top of her head and when the bell dinged at their floor, they walked like that to the door of the apartment. Lois pulled out her keys and began to struggle with the lock. He wrapped a hand around hers. The door opened and Lois walked inside, dropping her bag by the door and sliding out of her blazer.

"I'm going to go to bed. I'm exhausted." She started unbuttoning her shirt making her way to the bedroom. He followed her, and she slipped out of her skirt before disappearing into their walk in closet. Clark turned down the comforter and climbed in bed, taking off his glasses and setting them on the bedside table.

Lois appeared in a pair of red hipster underwear and one of his old blue tee shirts and carrying a cup of water. He smiled at the color combination, and she sat down on the edge of the bed. She reached for the round package of pills that sat on her bedside table, right by the framed photograph of her and Clark in front of the Eiffel Tower. Popping one of the pills out of the package, she swallowed it with a big gulp of water.

It was all so perfect. So…domestic. He wondered how long this would last. Lois slipped under the covers, turned off the lamp and rolled on her side. He scooted over, sliding behind her, wrapping an arm around her waist. He buried his nose in her hair, inhaling the scent of her shampoo.

"I love you." She whispered into the dark and he pressed another kiss into her hair.

"Love you too."


	19. Chapter 19

A/N: Ok, hang with me. I promise things are going to get more action packed. Just as a timeframe, this is taking place in November of 2013. Also, there has been some concern that this is going to turn into a Lex/Lois fic. I want to assure everyone that this is not going to happen. Cross my heart and hope to die. :) I just think it's a much harder fall when you begin to trust someone again. I think you'll all enjoy what I have planned, hang in there with me.

* * *

Lois marched into the Daily Planet, her bag clutched in her hand. She was a woman on a mission. She had learned from experience that when propositioning Perry, one had to be abrupt and know what they wanted, and she knew what she wanted. A picture of poor Chloe, bored out of her mind and lying in bed entered her mind.

She stomped through the bullpen and she was pleased to notice that almost everyone was scattering from the path she was making. It wasn't until she heard one of the interns whisper, "Mad-Dog's on the warpath." That she actually smiled. The smile was quickly suppressed. She put on her best serious face, and rapped her knuckles smartly on the door to Perry's office. She didn't even wait for him to shout his usual "Come in!"

Lois pushed the door open and slammed it shut behind her. "Perry, I need a favor."

Perry sighed and took a long drag off of his cigar. "Lane…" He started, but Lois held up a hand.

"I know what you're going to say. You've already done enough giving me a lot of time off of work, but this is serious." She dropped her bag in a chair, and began to pace.

"Look, we've known each other for a long time, and I know I've been kind of sketchy with showing up to work the last few months, but I've always had my articles in on time, even when I haven't been in to work."

Perry nodded, looking at her intently.

"So, anyway, I'm going to need Thursdays and Fridays off for the next few weeks. My cousin is pregnant and she's been put on bed rest. She asked me to take care of things around her house." Lois stopped and stood in front of Perry's desk.

He wasn't moving, just staring at her. The cigar was sitting in the ashtray, the smoke clouding his face.

"Say something." Her hands were wrung together, and finally Perry sighed.

"Look Lane, you're a good reporter. As long as you turn in your articles on time, I don't give a damn what you do." He picked up his cigar and pulled on it.

"Really?"

"Really. Just turn your shit in. Or, have Kent turn it in." Perry picked up an article and skimmed it. Finally, he looked up. "Are you still here?"

Lois continued to stare at him.

"What?"

"Are you sure?" She grabbed her bag and clutched it to her chest.

"Do you want me to change my mind?" He stubbed out his cigar.

"No."

"Then get out of here and get back to work." He waved her away and she darted from the room. She closed the door and sighed in relief. She gathered herself together and walked to her and Clark's office.

The office was empty, and she dropped her bag on her chair. She just stood there for several seconds, staring around the empty office.

"I need a maple doughnut." She walked out of the office and into the break room. The pink box of doughnuts was still closed and wrapped tightly with twine. She picked up a pair of scissors and cut the string. After snatching the maple doughnut off the top, she flung open the door and ran right into Clark Kent.

"Oh, I'm sorry Miss Lane." He caught her elbow to steady her and smiled.

"Clark, cut it out. There's no one around." His eyes darted around the room to double check.

"Ok. So what are you doing today?"

"I have that interview with the mayor, and then I have that article to finish that I failed to finish last night. Is it sad that it's only Tuesday and I'm already behind?" She sighed, examined the pastry in her hand and took a giant bite out of her doughnut and he nodded. "How about you?"

"I have a meeting with one of the psychiatrists at Arkham. He thinks that there's something fishy going on with the higher ups." He shoved his glasses up his nose and Lois nodded.

"Sounds promising. I'll see you for dinner?"

"Yep."

She stood on tiptoes to kiss him, and then breezed by him. "I'll see you later."

* * *

By Thursday, Lois was stressed out. She woke up early in order to take breakfast over to Chloe's. She carried the pastry box into the penthouse and it wasn't until she was exiting the elevator that she realized that she'd had doughnuts for breakfast every day for breakfast.

She looked at the box and was mildly disgusted with herself. How many calories were in doughnuts? She had a feeling that she didn't really want to know. Oliver let her into the apartment. He was clad in nothing but a pair of dark green pajama pants.

"Hey, Lo." He smiled at her and she grinned back, holding the pink box out to him.

"I bought breakfast."

He took the box from her and opened it, pulling a doughnut from the box. "Chloe's in bed. I have a meeting at 9, so I have to get ready." He poured himself a cup of coffee and sipped at it.

"Ok." She grabbed the pastry box, turned and walked into the bedroom. Chloe was awake and propped up in bed. She looked like she was already going crazy.

"Lois! Thank God you're here." She reached both arms out to her cousin and Lois handed her the pastry box.

The blonde tore open the top and grabbed the first doughnut off of the top, taking a huge bite out of a jelly filled.

"I can make you something else, if you want." Lois gestured at the box, and Chloe shook her head.

"I've had doughnuts every day for breakfast. I'm beginning to question my culinary choices." Lois sat down on the side of the bed and her cousin laughed.

"Well, we could have my lunch of choice." She said around the mouthful of doughnut.

"Which is…?"

"Pickles, potato chips and milk." Chloe grinned, and Lois laughed at the sight that greeted her. Her cousin looked like she was five, powdered sugar ringed her mouth and her hair was disheveled.

"I can't believe you actually eat that shit." Lois shook her head and Chloe shrugged.

"I can't help what Bobby wants." Chloe patted her belly and Lois raised her eyebrows.

"Well, what do you want to do today?" The brunette perked up and reached into her bag. "I have _X-Men_, _Inception_, _Bridesmaids_, and the entirety of the Harry Potter series." She pulled out all of the DVDs and Chloe examined them.

"_X-Men_, the first one. I think if I have to see Wolverine tell Jean Grey that he loves her right before he kills her, I'll probably drown in my own tears." Chloe rolled her eyes and Lois grabbed the DVD. She put the movie in and then reached into her bag, pulling out her Macbook.

"You're going to do work?" Chloe asked her, offended, and Lois nodded.

"Look, Chlo, I love you, but if I'm taking time off of work, I have to keep up with my articles."

"Ok, ok."

* * *

When Oliver came wandering in at seven, he found a stressed out Lois and a sleepy wife. His former girlfriend was frantically trying to finish an article.

"Lois, go home." He waved her away and Lois looked at him gratefully. Chloe frowned and grabbed at her cousin's arm.

"Don't leave!" She had been half asleep before, but now that Lois was leaving, she was fully awake.

"Chloe, I'll see you tomorrow." She kissed her cousin on the cheek and then gestured to Oliver to follow her out into the hall, which he did.

Lois walked into the kitchen, and dropped her bag on the table, before clutching her hair and screaming under her breath.

"What's wrong?" His brow was furrowed in worry.

"Your wife is driving me crazy. I love her, but she's driving me crazy."

"What happened?" He half smiled at her and she glared at him.

"Well, first she ate the only maple doughnut out of the entire box, which was fine, I can handle that, but then she talked the entire time we were watching _X-Men _and kept asking me questions about my article, and then I had to go get her pickles and milk, and help her go to the bathroom and pick out color swatches for the baby's sheets." She rested her elbows on the granite countertop, and rested her head in her hands. "Which, by the way, what's the difference between powder blue and sky blue?"

Oliver grinned at her. "Lois, she's going crazy being confined to bed. You know you would be doing the same thing."

She glared at him and grabbed her bag. "I wouldn't expect you to understand. It's not like you've done any of this, you always just get a maid or an interior designer to help her."

His mouth dropped open. "Hey…"

"What? You know it's true." She whipped around. "Maybe the reason she asked me to stay and not you, was because she knew she could count on me. She knew that I would be there for her."

"I'm there for her!" He said indignantly.

"Really? Then why don't you stick around while I'm here tomorrow and you can do all the heavy lifting, because do you know how heavy lifting your pregnant wife onto the toilet is?" Lois put her hands on her hips and he refused to meet her eyes.

"That's what I thought." She started to head out, but turned around. "Cancel all your appointments tomorrow. We're going to help out the pregnant woman tomorrow."

The day after that was the most eventful Lois and Oliver had ever experienced. Chloe had them running in circles. First she sent Lois out to pick up lunch, then she had to be lifted onto the toilet, then she wanted Chunky Monkey. Lois had almost killed her. The day ended on a low note, with Chloe weeping over the fact that Oliver didn't really care about what color the baby's sheets were and telling Oliver that he thought she was fat. Lois had snuck out in the middle of Oliver attempting to comfort his crying pregnant wife. She was exhausted by the time she got home. Clark had taken one look at her and run a bath. She had then spent the rest of the night finishing the article from the night before, which she had failed to finish.

There were times when Lois wished she had Clark's powers. He would often stay up all night patrolling and working on articles. He professed that he didn't really need sleep or food, running purely on the sun's energy, but he preferred to actually eat and sleep. However, since she didn't have Clark's powers, it meant that she lived off of coffee and maple doughnuts.

When the weekend finally rolled around, she was about ready to drop. All she wanted to do was crawl into bed. She finished her article early Saturday morning and crawled into bed next to her fiancée. She awoke at noon to a completely empty apartment. She felt dazed. Lois reached for her phone and noticed that there were ten missed calls from Chloe, all with some variation on "Where are you, call me back?"

Lois sighed. Ever since she'd begun staying with Chloe two days a week, the blonde had been calling her every five minutes for her opinions on decorating and other advice. Lois couldn't care less about what shade of blue the baby's room was, and she didn't think Bobby would care either. Hell, since the kid was Oliver's, he'd probably prefer green over blue anyway. She padded into the kitchen and decided to cook herself an actual breakfast, which was one of the meals she was semi-decent at cooking.

Just as she was turning the eggs, Shelby pulled Clark into the apartment. It was odd sometimes, to see Clark's two personalities mix. He was in a pair of charcoal Met U sweatpants, a red tee shirt and a pair of running shoes. His hair was slicked back perfectly and he had his glasses on. He was the perfect blend of Clark Kent, mild mannered reporter, and her sexy Smallville.

"Hey, baby." He released Shelby from his leash and the dog bounded into the kitchen. He began lapping up water noisily. Lois slid her eggs onto a plate and pressed the lever down on the toaster. He stepped behind her, putting his hands on her hips and brushing his lips across the back of her neck.

"Want some eggs?" She turned and he stared at her.

"No, I'm good. I ate before I walked Shelby." He kissed her on the lips and then released her.

"So what do you want to do today?" She asked, pressing the button on the microwave for her bacon.

"You know that bacon is better when you make it on the stove, right?" He asked, taking a bite of an apple from the fruit bowl on the counter.

"I know. I'm just lazy." She said, slathering butter on her toast.

"Well, in answer to your question, I'm going to watch the Met U game on TV, maybe seduce my fiancée…" He ran his hands across her back and she smiled. "How about you?"

"I'm going to go for a run, take a shower and then lay in bed and watch some Netflix." The microwave beeped and she pulled the bacon out, crunching down on it.

"Awesome." He reached over and grabbed a piece of her bacon and she snorted in indignation.

Lois finished up breakfast and then went in to change. She pulled on a pair of sweatpants and a tee shirt. She pulled her hair back into a high ponytail, and slid into a pair of running shoes. She popped her ear buds in, tucking her iPod into her pocket.

Running through the city was always calming to Lois. She enjoyed watching the people go about their day while she ran-people bustling into office buildings and women pulling boyfriends into stores. It was a comfort to know that even in the darkest days, life went on.

She took up the pace, running around the block and down the street-following her normal route. Her phone buzzed in her pocket and she slowed, running in place. She pulled it from her pocket and the caller id read "Chloe". She seriously debated for several seconds on whether or not to answer. If this was a call about color schemes and begging her to come visit, she'd rather not answer. However, if this was a call telling her the baby was on it's way, she definitely wanted to answer.

Lois flipped open her phone. "Hello?"

"Lois! Can you come over, please?" There was a whine to her voice with an undercurrent of something else.

"Is everything ok?" She stopped running.

"I think so. Oliver is in Tokyo for a business thing and I don't know if I'm having false labor or if this is the real thing."

"Oh my God." Lois began jogging again. "Look, I'm like two miles away from your place, I went out for a run. I'm on my way." She sprinted the two miles to the Queen penthouse, deciding that it was faster and cheaper than hailing a cab.

When she got to the building, she ran inside and frantically pushed the button, clutching a stitch in her side. She flipped open her phone and dialed Clark's number. He picked up on the first ring.

"Hello?"

"Clark! Oh my God, Chloe thinks she's in labor and Oliver is in Tokyo. Can you come over?" She said, breathlessly.

There was a small sigh. "When you get upstairs, open the window to her bedroom."

"I love you," she said, stepping into the elevator and shutting her phone.

She arrived on the top floor, using her key to open the front door. Chloe was lying in bed, and Lois rushed in.

"Is everything ok? He hasn't come out yet, has he?"

Chloe smiled at her. "No, Lois. They're just mild contractions. It's probably going to be awhile."

The brunette sighed in relief. "Ok, well, Clark is on his way, and he'll fly you to the hospital."

"Lois, that's really unnecessary. If he could just carry me downstairs, the driver will drive us to the hospital." She rolled her eyes.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes!" She laughed. There was a light knock on the window, and Superman was hovering outside of the Queen penthouse. Lois wrenched open the window and he flew in.

"Is everything ok?" He looked worriedly from one cousin to the other.

"Clark, everything is fine." Chloe smiled at him, but the smile quickly turned to a grimace. She placed a hand on her belly and squeezed her eyes shut.

"Chloe?" Lois rushed over to her cousin and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Are you ok?"

"Yeah, I'm good." She removed her hand and looked over at Clark. "You don't need to be Superman for this Clark, you can just be my friend, Clark Kent who's helping me downstairs."

He nodded and spun in a quick circle, a mini tornado in the Queen penthouse. Soon, he was Clark Kent again, rumpled suit that was too big for him, horn rimmed glasses and all.

Clark slid his arms between Chloe and the sheets, cradling her against him. Lois followed them down to the penthouse, pulling her phone out and dialing the driver to inform him that Mrs. Queen would be coming down and needed a ride to Met Gen.

They took the elevator down to the garage in silence. Clark raised his eyes at the Town Car that was idling right by the door, and the driver opened the door. Clark placed Chloe gently on the seat, then stepped back so Lois could slide in. Finally, he climbed in behind them, and they were off to the hospital.

* * *

Lois was fucking exhausted. It seemed like that was all she ever was. She loved Chloe, but it was time for that baby to come out and for everyone to go back to their normal lives. She'd been at the hospital for the last eighteen hours, most of which had been catering to Chloe's every whim, which included ice chips, back rubs, and magazines. Chloe had been able to drift off in between contractions, and Lois seriously considered crawling into bed with her. Instead, she had flipped through the channels on the television, staying put in the recliner. Clark had abandoned them to fly over to Tokyo and pick up Oliver, who was still in his meeting. Apparently, not even Superman could interrupt high powered business men when they were discussing a merger.

Although, who stayed in meetings with the Japanese for eighteen hours? It seemed pretty fishy to Lois. Nineteen hours into labor, Oliver Queen finally showed up. If Chloe was happy to see her husband, it was nothing compared to what Lois felt. She wanted to kiss Oliver's feet. She slumped in the chair next to Chloe's bed, and Clark grasped her hand, pulling her to her feet.

"Chloe, now that Oliver's here, is it ok if I go home and get some sleep?" She felt dead on her feet.

"What?" Chloe tried to pull herself up into a sitting position, and it took all of Lois's strength not to laugh. She looked like a turtle on it's back. "You can't leave me! Bobby could be here any minute!"

She sighed and Clark looked at her, shrugging. "Alright, alright, I'll stay." Lois pushed Chloe's hair from her face, wondering how long it would take for Bobby to arrive.

* * *

Three hours later, at ten pm, Lois found herself supporting one of Chloe's legs while Oliver supported the other. The doctor, a tall thin woman ironically named Dr. Gordo, was positioned between Chloe's legs. Her cousin was screaming and Oliver was pale.

Lois had never imagined that having a baby would be anything like this. It was tears and blood and a little bit of vomit, although she would deny having thrown up when recounting the story.

"Oh God." Chloe groaned and glared at Oliver. "I'm going to kill you." She turned her head and looked at Lois. "I'm never having sex again."

"Yeah, you say that now." Lois rolled her eyes. She didn't dare look at where the doctor was. It was kind of like watching a car crash. You couldn't bear to look, but it was hard not to look. She peeked down and almost threw up again.

"Oh my God." Lois shook her head and looked at Chloe's face.

"Ok, Chloe. Push again." The doctor glanced up and the blonde nodded.

Thus, with one final push, Robert Gabriel Queen was born. It was very miraculous, but also incredibly disgusting. He was covered in blood and mucus. His skin looked like it had a gray tinge, and she was slightly worried, that was until he starting bawling uncontrollably.

* * *

Lois ran out into the waiting room where Clark sat, clad once again in the charcoal sweats and blue tee. She was grinning from ear to ear, and she almost tackled him.

"Well?" He asked, sweeping her up and spinning her.

"Robert Gabriel Queen: nine pounds, three ounces, born at 10:15 pm on November 20th 2013." She kissed him roughly on the lips and pulled away, grinning at him.

"Can I go in?" He placed her back on the ground and she shook her head.

"They're cleaning both of them up. We can stick around for another hour or we can go home, crawl into our bed, maybe do some other things...and then pass out and come by after work." She buried her face in his neck and he grinned.

"Oh that's right. Tomorrow's Monday." He ran a hand through her hair and she sighed.

"What happened to our weekend?" She groaned and put her head on his chest. "I thought we were going to lay in bed all weekend and watch Netflix in between taking advantage of each other."

"Is it taking advantage of each other if we're both willing participants?" He tilted his head and she grinned.

"Probably not."

"Ok. Let's go home." He pulled her to the elevator and she leaned up against him again.

"I'm tired." She allowed her eyes to drift close and he smiled, scooping her up. "My knight in shining armor."

"I try." He smiled down at her and she nestled against him. He walked out of the hospital, cradling his fiancée against him. She slept the whole way, the plodding of his feet lulling her into a peaceful sleep. He was glad that the weather had held up through November. It was a balmy 59 degrees, so the three mile walk to their apartment was calming. He made it all the way to the apartment before she woke up.

"Uh." She wriggled from his grasp. "I'm so gross." She was clad in the same exact clothes she had gone running in on Saturday morning.

"You look fine." He shrugged.

"Yeah right." She rolled her eyes and walked into the bedroom, shedding her clothes as she went.

Lois loved the master bathroom of their apartment. Clark had completely redone the bathroom to her specifications. The floor and countertops were black granite and the cabinets were white. A two-person Jacuzzi tub was in one corner and a glass shower stood next to it. These were her favorite things in the house. The shower had a rain showerhead as well as jets that stuck out of the walls that would roughly spray steaming water.

She turned the bathtub spigot on as hot as it would go and dumped several capfuls of the bubble bath Martha had gotten her for her birthday. She slipped into the warm silky water, laying her head on the side of the tub. The water filled up the tub, and she turned off the knob with her foot. The only sound was the gentle swishing of the water around her. She wasn't sure how long she was in the tub when she heard the door creak open. She half opened her eyes and watched through heavy lids as her Greek god of a fiancée shed his clothes. He stepped into the water, allowing the soapy water to cover his lower half.

Lois smiled as Clark reached out and grasped her foot in his hands, kneading her arches and heels. She groaned. "Have I told you how much I love you?"

"Yep. I know." He dropped her foot and grinned at her. He slid up, dragging his fingers across her body. He straddled her waist and brushed his lips across hers, nibbling lightly on her bottom lip.

"Have we baptized the tub yet?" She whispered up to him and he grinned.

"I don't think so."

"Oh good." She kissed him roughly and he ran his soapy hands down her neck and down to her breasts. She groaned as he played with her nipples. She slipped out from underneath him, and he flipped onto his back. She smiled at the sight he made. His hair was out of its normally perfect slicked back "do" and a flush was starting on his cheeks and seeping down his chest. His erection was jutting up from the bath water, half of it hidden beneath the bubbles.

Lois splayed both hands on his chest, digging her nails into his pecs. She lifted up her hips and he slipped inside of her. She groaned at the feel of him inside of her.

"Let's never leave." She ground her hips against his and he half laughed, half moaned. "No, I'm serious. Just stay inside of me forever."

"Oh yeah, I'm sure Perry would love that. Your skirt hiked up around your waist, riding me in the meeting room." He grinned and she moaned at the sight he painted. Sex with Clark was unlike anything else she had ever experienced. She'd always assumed that when you were intimate with someone, the only sounds that you made were moans and perhaps the occasional "oh my God". But with Clark, they talked, laughed, cried. It was such an intimate experience that Lois wasn't sure she could ever go back to the way she had made love before.

Lois rode him, the water in the tub splashing and swirling around them. She kissed him fiercely and he met her thrusts. He stuck out his tongue, laving a nipple and then sucking gently on it.

The bathroom was filled with the sounds of their skin slapping against each other and bath water spilling over the edge of the tub onto the floor. Her breath was speeding up.

"Oh God. I'm coming." She dropped her head, pressing her chin against her chest and he grasped her chin, forcing her to gaze into his eyes.

"Look at me." He ordered her, and she obeyed.

Clark felt her squeezing around his cock and he groaned, reaching a hand around to cup her ass, pressing her against him. She rode her orgasm and he came with a cry. Lois collapsed against him, pressing her face into his neck, and he stroked her hair.

They basked in the post-sex euphoria. Lois felt like all of her nerve endings were tingling. Now, all she wanted to do was climb into bed and sleep for the next few days.

"Lois?" Clark pushed her hair out of her face and saw that she was already asleep. Her mouth open slightly and her cheek pressed to his chest. He was still buried inside of her and he smiled and lifted her from the water, wrapping her in a towel. He dried her off as best as he could, then slid her between the bed sheets. He dried himself off and then slid between the sheets himself, the cool feel of them caressing his skin. He pressed his nose to his fiancée's shoulder, inhaling the unique smell that was purely Lois.

Clark closed his eyes and he was soon sound to sleep, curled around the gently snoring brunette.


	20. Chapter 20

A/N: I'm really sorry that it's taken me so long to post this. I've been sitting on this awhile, but my new rule is to not post a chapter until the one after it is written, which means chapter 21 is already done, woohoo! With school starting, I'm and me taking 11 hours of grad classes, I'm not sure how this is going to work, but I'm going to try it. Thanks for reading, hopefully I'll see you soon.

Also-REVIEW, REVIEW, REVIEW!

* * *

It had been two weeks since Bobby had been born, and Lois could feel the sniffles and the scratchy throat coming on. The problem with living in the Midwest was that the weather often felt the need to change during weird times. It had gone from 20 degrees on Wednesday, and it was now Friday, and it was 65 degrees. Her pollen and mold allergies were also not doing her any favors. She'd spent every night for the last two weeks over at Chloe's, helping her deal with a wailing infant while Oliver was in Germany. She was running on little sleep, and she knew when she was low on sleep, the chances of her getting sick increased dramatically.

She reached into her bag and pulled out a wad of tissues, blowing her nose loudly and following it up with a cough.

"Are you ok?" Clark glanced at her, and she nodded.

She meant to say, "I'm fine." But it came out: "I'mb find."

He raised his eyebrows and she glared at him. "Lois, you should really go see a doctor before that cold turns into a sinus infection."

"Clark, I do not need you to tell me what to do. I have plenty of work that needs to get done here." She waved her arm at the pile of papers on her desk and continued typing.

"Do you at least want me to go get you some tea?"

She ignored him. She could take care of herself, damn it. He sighed. They sat in silence for a few minutes. Finally, he reached around to grab his suit jacket, slipping it over his rumpled dress shirt and overly baggy vest.

"I have a meeting with the mayor, I'll be back in an hour or two." He was gazing at her intently, and she knew he was x-raying her.

"Clark, seriously, go. I'm fine." She waved him off.

"Fine, but don't blame me when you get a sinus infection," he huffed, walking out the door.

* * *

Clark was stressed out. The meeting with the mayor had gone longer than expected and he still had the entire article to write. He trudged up the stairs to his and Lois's office, wanting nothing more than to finish his article, have dinner with his fiancée, and crawl into bed.

The phone rang from his pocket, and he reached for it, glancing at the caller id. "Boy Scout."

"Boy Scout this is Green Arrow, I need you to do patrol with Canary for me tonight." Oliver sounded distracted.

"Sure, what's up?" He stopped outside of his and Lois's office, all thoughts of curling up on the couch with his sniffly fiancée forgotten.

"Chloe has a doctor's appointment and I want to go with her. She's been having pretty bad headaches and her blood pressure has been kind of high lately."

Clark's brow furrowed in worry. "Is she going to be ok?"

"I'm sure everything will be fine. I just don't want her to go alone."

"Sure, ok. Call me when you know what's up."

"Will do. Thanks." A beep signaled that Oliver had ended the call, and Clark put his phone back in his pocket. He pushed the door open and almost laughed at the sight that greeted him.

Lois was wrapped in one of his suit jackets that he kept at the office in case anything happened. Her neck was scrunched up into the jacket and she was still trying to type. Her eyes went to him when he entered, and he rushed over to her.

"Lois, are you alright?" He wrapped an arm around her and rubbed her arm.

"I'mb find, Clark. Just cold." She coughed into a tissue and tossed it into the trashcan.

"No, you're not, Lois. You're going to go right home. I'll drop some medicine off at home when I get off work." He grabbed her bag and handed it to her.

She sighed in defeat and nodded. "What time will you be home?"

"Oliver just called me, he has to take Chloe to the doctor, so he asked me to patrol for him. I should be home around 3."

She nodded. "I'm going to go tell Perry you're going home." He bustled out of the office, and trotted down to Perry's office.

He tapped on the door. "Come in!"

Clark entered the editor's office, the wings on the door flanking behind him. It often struck him as odd how the people he knew and worked with, couldn't see who he really was. Did styling his hair different really make that big of a difference? Although, as Lois had pointed out, people weren't really looking at his face. Also, it didn't really matter who Superman was. In fact, if people found out he was just plain old Clark Kent, it would probably disappoint most people. Superman was a symbol. They all assumed he just flew around non stop, saving people. They didn't want to hear that he was going to have a family, that he had friends, and that he made mistakes too, just like the rest of them. Except his mistakes often had bigger and more disastrous consequences.

"Perry, Lois came down with a sinus infection. I'm going to take her home." Clark said, pushing his glasses further up his nose and scrunching it. He knew that doing this made him look particularly nerdy, so he tried to do it more often around people he really knew, so they were thrown off his scent.

Perry sighed and pulled on the cigar that was hanging from him lips. "Great Caesar's ghost, Kent! If you and Lane miss one more day of work, I'm going to have to fire you."

"You and I both know that you aren't firing anyone. Without Lois and I, who would you have to do all of your hard hitting reporting? Cat Grant?" Clark snorted in derision and Perry looked at him out of the corner of his eye. Normally, Clark tried to be meek and mild, but he had too much on his plate.

"You're right, Kent. But I better see you back here tomorrow morning bright and early. Just because your partner is down for the count, doesn't mean you have to be." He stubbed out the cigar in an ornate glass ashtray that sat precariously on a stack of files.

Clark wrinkled his nose at the smell of burning tobacco. "Sure thing, Chief." He bowed out of the room before Perry could ask him to do anything else.

When he got back, Lois was lying on the loveseat, his jacket wrapped around her. Her teeth were chattering loudly, and he scooped her up in his arms. The heat of her skin seemed to sear through his skin.

"Lois, you're burning up. Maybe I should take you to the hospital." He bit his bottom lip.

"I just want to go home. I'll go to the doctor tomorrow." She curled around his heat, and in a few minutes, she was home and he was tucking the comforter around her chin.

"I'm so cold." She burrowed deeper in the blankets, and Clark grabbed a spare duvet from the linen closet in their bedroom. He tucked it around her.

"Will you be ok? I feel bad leaving you to go on patrol."

"I'll be fine." She was still shivering. "Could you get me two ibuprofen?"

A few minutes later, she was in a feverish sleep.

* * *

Clark returned at 3 a.m., to find a very sick Lois curled under a steaming shower. When he walked into the bedroom to find all of the covers kicked back and her clothes on the floor, he had panicked. That is until he heard the shower running.

She was in the fetal position, her eyes closed with the water beating her body. The door to the bathroom opened, and she lifted her head to look at him.

Clark slid out of his clothes and climbed in with her. He wrapped his arms around her, and he noticed she was on fire. "Lois, this is ridiculous, I'm getting you to the hospital."

"No." She pushed him away, weakly and he shook his head. Suddenly, she was wrapped in two arms of steel.

"I'm not taking no for an answer."

He pulled on a pair of sweatpants and a tee shirt then pulled out the same clothes for Lois. He wrapped her in a fluffy towel and vigorously rubbed her down. She pulled on the clothes he had chosen for her. The comforter from the bed was wrapped around her, and he supported her down to the lobby of their building.

The night doorman watched them walk down the stairs.

"Mr. Kent. Ms. Lane." He nodded at them and Clark smiled at him.

"Carlo, could you hail us a cab? Lois isn't feeling well and I'm taking her to the hospital."

Carlo nodded and stepped out into the cold November air. A cab pulled up to the door, and Clark hauled her into the cab. He slid into the warm cab, and Lois climbed into his lap, resting her head on his shoulder.

"Met Gen hospital, please." The cab pulled away. There was no traffic and the streets were dark. Blue black buildings whizzed by the window. Yellow pools from the streetlamps illuminated sections of the sidewalk. Clark loved Metropolis at night. While the city never really slept, it seemed to doze at night. Sure, there were crimes and all night diners with harassed looking waitresses, but for the most part, the city slept.

The cab pulled up to the hospital, and Clark thrust some bills at the driver. He escorted Lois into the waiting room, filled out the paperwork, and together, he and Lois watched as the tops of the trees turned pink then orange, and finally the sun peeked through the branches.

Finally, the nurse called her name. They walked into the hospital room, and Lois promptly fell asleep on the bed. It felt like forever before the nurse finally came in. Lois barely woke up for the taking of her blood pressure, throat swab, temperature, and blood sample.

The doctor entered the room with a smile, the bright lights gleaming off of his dark skin, a clipboard clutched in his hand.

"This must be Ms. Lane." He smiled at her and Clark nodded. "Are you the husband?"

"No, the fiancée."

"Ah, ok. So what are her symptoms?" The doctor pulled a pen from his pocket, and poised it above the paper.

"Uh, well, the sneezing and sore throat started around noon yesterday, and by five it had developed into a fever with chills."

"Hmm." He grabbed a tongue depressor and approached Lois. A gentle shake woke Lois up, and she looked at the doctor through foggy eyes.

"Ms. Lane, can you open please?"

Lois nodded and opened her mouth. A quick look confirmed the doctor's suspicions.

"Well, it's definitely strep throat, that's why we took the throat culture, but it looks like Ms. Lane here got the luck of the draw and developed a sinus infection on top of it." He looked at Lois sympathetically, and she groaned, pulling her comforter tighter around her.

"I'm going to write her a prescription for penicillin." He scribbled the prescription on his pad of paper and handed it to him. "She should start it right away. By tomorrow, she'll feel a lot better, and she won't be contagious anymore." He smiled at him, and Clark nodded.

"Thanks, doc."

Clark was glad that he got Lois home before he was due at work. He managed to get Lois to drink an entire glass of orange juice and take her medicine, and put her back to bed. He was also grateful that he didn't really need sleep, although he liked it.

He left her sleeping soundly in their bed, wrapped in two comforters. She was obviously in the middle of a fever dream. She was moaning in her sleep and her eyes were moving quickly underneath the lids. A high flush played across her cheekbones and had crept down to her chest. He brushed her hair away from her face, and left a note pinned to his pillow, telling her that he was going to work.

He pulled on his suit, buttoning up the vest. A quick perfunctory kiss on her forehead, and he was gone-off to the daily grind, hoping that Perry would show mercy and let him go early to check on her.

* * *

When Lois awoke, the first thing she noticed was that she was alone, the second-the note that was pinned to Clark's pillow, and the third-she was boiling. She kicked two comforters and a sheet off of her. Then, she plucked the note from Clark's pillow, and began to read.

_Lois,_

_Hope you're feeling better! Take two ibuprofen, your antibiotic, and your other medicine. There's soup in the frig. I love you._

_CK_

The memory of the night before was foggy, like she was examining it through a heavy mist. She remembered her throat feeling like it was on fire and climbing into the shower. She also vaguely remembered Clark taking her to the hospital, but beyond that, everything was in a haze.

Lois swallowed roughly, and it felt like she had swallowed an entire hive of bees and they had all stung as they were going down. She crawled her way out from the tangle of sheets and made her way to the kitchen. Clark had arranged the bottle of ibuprofen, her antibiotic and her birth control case around a glass of water in which it looked like all of the ice had melted. She popped four pills into her mouth and swallowed it.

She rubbed at her neck and then turned to the refrigerator. Instead of heading for the soup, she opened the freezer and pulled a container of orange sherbet out. She padded back to bed and turned on the Wii. She finally glanced at the clock, and was mildly surprised to see that it read "3:13". She clicked on "True Grit" and dug into the sherbet.

It was hours and an entire container of orange sherbet later when Clark arrived home. He came bearing Chinese take out, and after he changed into his pajamas, they fell into bed, Lois digging into the sesame chicken and vegetable lo mein, and Clark wolfing down his orange chicken and fried rice.

Clark's phone dinged and he reached over and answered.

"Hello?"

The sound of Chloe screeching on the other end of the phone drove through her like a knife. Her cousin was screaming so loud, she could hear it, even though the phone was pressed tightly to Clark's ear. She respected Chloe's situation, but she was sick of dealing with Chloe's life problems. She loved her cousin, and her cousin's son, and even Oliver, but she'd spent the last two weeks dealing with a colicky Bobby, a crying Chloe and an absent Oliver. All she wanted was some time alone with her fiancée.

"Where is Lois?" Clark pulled the phone six inches away from his ear to listen to Chloe's shouting.

"Chloe, Lois had to go to the hospital last night. She's recuperating today, so she won't be able to swing by." Clark said rationally.

"Why didn't she call me? How am I supposed to deal with Bobby?"

Clark looked at Lois, whose lips were pressed into a tight line.

"Don't you have a nanny for precisely that reason?"

"No son of mine is going to be raised by a nanny." Chloe snorted, and Clark shook his head.

"Then find a babysitter. Lois is sick, and needs the night off. Also, you can't rely solely on your cousin to help with _your_ child. Why did you even have a kid if you can't take care of it?" Clark asked and there was silence on the other end. "Look, I'm sorry, Chlo, I love you, but you've been taking advantage of Lois for the last two weeks, and now she needs some time to feel better, so find someone else." He clicked off the phone and turned to smile at Lois.

She gave him a tight smile and pushed her Chinese food away.

"I'm sorry, did I say too much?" He wrapped an arm around her and she shrugged.

"I love Chloe, and I love Bobby, but I don't think Chloe knew what she was getting into when she decided to have a baby." She slipped down in bed and he nodded. "It wouldn't be so bad if she was a little appreciative. Instead it feels like she just expects me to come over and help her take care of her son. How long am I supposed to do this for? I don't mind helping but is she going to expect me to come over and take care of Bobby when he's fourteen?"

Clark nodded, but Lois turned to him. She looked sad. "Do you think she's mad at me?"

"She's probably more mad at me than she is at you. She'll get over it." He took her half empty Chinese containers and padded into the kitchen, putting lids back on and shoving them in the refrigerator. Lois followed him out into the kitchen and sat down on the couch.

"Are you feeling better?" He filled the kettle with water and pulled two coffee mugs down out of the cabinet, dropping tea bags into them. He held the kettle up to his eye line and heated it with his heat vision until the kettle whistled. He poured the steaming water into the cups.

He poured two sugars into one and handed it to her. She took a sip and smiled at him. "A little."

"So, are you going to work tomorrow?" He turned on the news and sat down next to her, gulping down his tea.

"I think so. I'm feeling better already." She laid her head on his shoulder and they sat in silence, watching the news. "Can I ask you a question?"

"Sure baby." He gazed at her through his glasses and she pulled them off of his face.

"Do you think everything will stay like this forever?" She took a sip of tea and he stared at her.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, everything has been perfect between us lately. We've been the picture of domestic bliss, even better than we've been in the past."

Clark nodded in understanding. "And you're wondering if this whole thing will last."

"Yeah." She finished her tea and set the empty mug down on the coffee table. "I'm afraid that something will change. I want it to last so bad." She stretched out, laying her head in his lap and he leaned down to kiss her.

"Even if it doesn't last, we're still together, and that's what matters." He kissed the top of her head and she snuggled deeper into the warmth of his body.

"Yeah, I guess. I just don't want it to change."

"Change is always hard. We just have to roll with the punches and enjoy each other while we can." He rubbed her arm and she nodded.

They were silent, and it wasn't until a few minutes later when Clark noticed that Lois was crying. The tears were falling from the corners of her eyes and down into her ears and hair.

"Hey, hey, hey. What's wrong?" He kissed her and she rubbed her hand under her nose and shook her head.

"I don't know, maybe it was the whole thing with Chloe having Bobby, but I don't want us to ever be separated."

"We won't be separated." He laughed and she shook her head again.

"We will! Clark, you're going to live forever, and one day I'm going to grow old and die."

"Lois, you're being ridiculous." He wiped the tears from her eyes and she sat up.

"Am I? What's going to happen when I'm an old woman and you still look the same? Do I tell people you're my grandson? That you're my young aide who's also my lover?" She stood and began pacing.

"Come here." He waved her to him and she went. He pulled her onto his lap and she buried her face in his neck. "Honey, we don't know if I'm going to live forever, I could age just like everyone else. And, I'm not going to stop loving you just because you age. With age, comes wisdom, and one day, when we're old and decrepit together, I'll take care of you." He pushed her hair back and began to sing, "I wanna make you smile whenever you're sad, carry you around when your arthritis is bad, all I wanna do is grow old with you."

Lois began to cry harder. "Hey, what's wrong?" He stroked her tears away.

"Your singing is awful."

"Hey!" He pushed her away and she grabbed his hand.

"But I love that you're singing a song from one of my favorite movies in order to cheer me up." She kissed him and he smiled through the kiss.

"Come on, back to bed missy." He pulled her up from the couch and pushed her toward the bedroom.

"Ooo, am I gonna get lucky?" She raised her eyebrows suggestively at him, but it quickly turned into a cough.

Clark rolled his eyes. "Maybe tomorrow."

Lois scrunched up her nose and he waved her away.

"Goodnight, Lois."


	21. Chapter 21

A/N: Ok, some of you may get a little angry at me, but I'm going to sneak a Marvel character in the next chapter because it fit beautifully with my story. If that offends anyone, then I would say to you-you do not have to read this. Attendance to this fic is non-compulsory.

* * *

Once again, Lois was running late. Clark had woken her up at 7:30 by going down on her, which had turned into a quickie. She'd rushed to shower and get her stuff together, because while Clark could get ready in a flash, it still took her the normal amount of time. She was still a little tired, and her cough was still hanging around, but she felt infinitely better than she had yesterday.

She breezed into the Daily Planet, trying to contain the cough that still managed to linger. She was busily trying to find a tissue in her bag when she ran right into Cat Grant.

"Watch it, Lane!" She snarled, frantically trying to prevent the stack of papers she was carrying from falling to the ground.

"_You_ watch it, Grant." She rasped, finally finding a tissue and holding it to her mouth as she coughed.

"Ugh. Why did you even come in today?" Cat glared at her and Lois glared right back.

"Look, I'm not even contagious, and if you're going to ride my ass today, don't bother. Why don't you just go back to your little desk and work on the gossip column?"

She stalked back to her office, slamming the door. Clark looked at her from his desk and she huffed.

"Cat?"

"Of course." She plopped down in her seat, shrugging out of her bag.

"Why do you let her get to you?" He pulled his glasses off and she shrugged.

"I don't know, she just drives me crazy. It's not even real reporting that she does, Perry just stuck her as head of the gossip column because he didn't know what else to do with her."

Clark smiled at her, and there was a knock on their door. He quickly shoved his glasses back on just as the door opened to reveal Jeff, the intern.

"Miss Lane, I'm sorry but Perry needs to see you in his office now."

"Sure thing, Jeff." She rolled her eyes at Clark, who smirked.

Lois followed Jeff out of the office and through the bullpen. The bullpen always made her feel right at home. It was like a beehive of activity and news. Jeff knocked on the door and pushed it open.

"Lane, get in here." He was sitting behind his desk, a manila folder open on his desk and papers strewn all over the desk.

"What's up, Perry?" She sat down across from him and he stared at her intently through the smoke that was puffing up from his lit cigar.

"I had a meeting with a source earlier, and he thinks he has some information on the inner goings on at the Pentagon. Supposedly Luthor and Tony Stark are both up for a defense contract, and since _you_," at this, he tapped her hand with his folder, "are our official reporter on everything Lex Luthor, you are going to go to D.C."

"Really?" Lois leaned forward, looking at the papers spread out in front of him. She felt a sense of growing excitement at the prospect of actually going to Washington D.C. and seeing the nation's capitol.

"Yep. "

"Hmm. Ok." Lois smiled.

"Don't screw this up, Lane, this could be Pulitzer material." He gathered up the information and shoved it back into the manila folder. He handed it to her and she tucked it under her arm.

"Thanks, Perry. Anything else?"

"Yeah, your plane to D.C. leaves tomorrow. You'll meet my source at the airport. Here's his number." He pushed a card across the desk and she picked it up. "And don't forget to keep me updated."

"Sure thing, Chief." She mock saluted him and he sighed.

"And don't infect my source with whatever the hell it is you have, Lane. You sound like shit!" He called after her, and she shut the door with a slam.

Clark was waiting for her when she entered their office. He was trying to play it nonchalantly, pretending to work on his article, but she knew he was really waiting for her. The minute the door closed, he was out of his seat and striding towards her.

"Is everything ok?"

"Yeah, everything's fine. I have to go to D.C. tomorrow though." She pulled a face and he frowned.

"Doesn't Perry know that you're still recovering?" He guided her over to her desk chair and she shrugged.

"I feel a lot better, honestly, and this is a really good opportunity for me." She spun to face her computer, and he worried his bottom lip between his teeth.

"Ok. Do you want me to go with you?"

"No, I'll be fine, Clark. I don't think I'll be gone for a long time." She pulled her hair back in a ponytail and he sighed.

"Alright, if you're sure." He sat back down across from her.

Lois brushed an invisible piece of dust from her keyboard. "So…I guess I should call Chloe before I go."

Clark nodded. "That's probably a good idea."

She sighed and grabbed her cell phone. She punched in one of the speed dial numbers and let it ring.

"Hello?" Chloe picked up on the first ring.

"Hey."

"Hey."

There was complete silence until finally, Lois said, "Look, I'm sorry for what Clark said, he shouldn't have said that."

Chloe's voice was tiny on the other end. "Thanks."

"But anyway, I just wanted to let you know that I have to go to D.C. tomorrow for work."

Chloe sighed. "Fine."

"Wait, are you still mad at me?" Lois's brow furrowed. Clark was clacking away on his computer, but it was obvious he was listening to the whole conversation.

"No, I just thought that maybe you'd come over and help with Bobby."

"Look, Chloe, I love you and I love Bobby, but I can't come over every night to help anymore. I made myself sick from exhaustion when I was doing that, and if you need occasional help, I'm more than happy to come over and give you a break, but not all the time." She took a breath and Chloe sighed again.

"Lois, this is the first time I'm doing this. What if I screw this up? What if I screw _him_ up."

"He's a baby, you can't really do much to screw him up unless you drop him on his head or something."

Her cousin gave a little laugh.

"Also, do you think _I've_ done this before? That's what you have a nanny there for, not to take care of your child, but to help you take care of your child. Why else would Oliver have hired someone with a Masters degree in early childhood development?"

"I guess you're right."

"You'll be ok while I'm gone?" Lois asked.

"Yeah, we'll be fine." Lois could feel Chloe's smile on the other end of the phone. "You go get that story."

"Will do, coz. See you when I get back." Lois clicked off her phone and grinned at Clark who smiled.

"Well, that's settled. Now I just have to pack when I get home."

"Are you sure you don't want me to go with you?" Clark looked at her worriedly, and Lois tilted her head.

"Is my little Clarkie worried?"

He sighed. "Lois, I think I have every reason to be worried. You're know you're going to the Pentagon tomorrow, right?"

"Of course I know that! Jeez, what do I look like to you?" She straightened her blazer and he smiled.

"Alright, alright. I'll stop worrying if you promise to call me every night."

She rolled her eyes. "You already know I will."

"Good." He smiled, pushed his glasses up and went back to work on his article. It wasn't until Lois had left for her trip that he realized she hadn't told him the reason Perry was sending her to D.C.

* * *

Lois was stressed out by the time she arrived in Washington D.C. She'd missed two flights, the airline had lost her luggage and she couldn't get a hold of Perry's source. She sat down next to the baggage claim, her head in her hands. She'd been waiting for at least two hours and it felt like she had complained to every airline employee. Finally, she'd given up and had decided to wait it out.

"Miss Lane?" An airport employee stood in front of her, her scarlet bag sitting next to him.

"Oh my God, is that my bag?" Lois jumped up and the young man nodded. "Thank you!" She flung her arms around him and he smiled.

"Sure thing." She grabbed her bag and sat back down. Pulling her phone and the business card from her purse, she punched in the number and it rang twice before he picked up.

"Hello?"

"Oh my gosh, hi. So, this is Lois Lane, and Perry told me to call you when I got into D.C."

"Oh, right. I sent a car to pick you up." The voice on the other end was deep, husky and distinctly unfamiliar.

"Oh, okay." She grabbed her bag and headed to where taxis waited.

"I'll come by your hotel room tonight and we'll discuss logistics." The line went dead and Lois stood in the bright Virginia sunshine, the cold air whipping through her long black coat.

There was a man, leaning against a black car, a sign that said "Lane" dangling lazily from one hand. Dark aviator sunglasses were perched on his nose, and he was inhaling deeply from a cigarette.

"I'm Lois Lane," she said, approaching him. He nodded, dropped the cigarette and opened the door for her. She slipped into the back seat and soon they were flying down the freeway to her hotel.

When they arrived at the Sheraton, Lois found that her suite was being billed to the Daily Planet's account. She dropped her suitcase on the floor and collapsed onto the bed and stretched out. Her foot jiggled anxiously. She wasn't sure how long she could wait until the source arrived. She reached for the remote and clicked on the television, deciding to mindlessly blow away the time.

The cell phone that she had set on the bedside table buzzed and she reached for it, flipping it open.

"Hello?"

"Hey babe. You make it ok?" Wind was blowing on the other end of the line.

"Yep. Are you at work?"

"Sort of."

"What do you mean "sort of"?" She asked.

"Well, there was a robbery on 81st street, so I went to take care of it."

"Oh that's cool, so what are you going to do now?" Lois picked up the remote and turned the television mute, then began flipping through channels.

"I'm going to go interview the victims and witnesses."

"What?" She dropped the remote and sat up. "Clark, you can't do that."

"Why not?" The wind stopped on the other end, and Lois sighed.

"What if one of the witnesses recognizes you?" She squawked.

"Lois, no one's going to recognize me." His voice took on a whine, and she sighed.

"You know, sometimes I feel like I'm dealing with a five year old. Do you really think that a different hair style and a pair of glasses is enough to fool someone that you saved?"

"Uh, yes. We've been over this. No one is going to recognize me." He said shortly, and she sighed again.

"Ok, well I trust your judgment, but if someone recognizes you, I'm not there to do damage control, so you're on your own." She sat back down on the edge of the bed.

"Alright, ok. I'll call you later."

"Ok, bye." She snapped her phone shut, and it wasn't until later that she realized she hadn't told him that she loved him.

* * *

By the time Perry's source arrived, Lois was jet lagged and in a crabby mood. The light knock on her hotel room jarred her from the light nap that she had fallen into.

She rose from the slightly rumpled covers and gazed through the peephole. A balding, middle-aged man with a paunch stood on the other side of the door. Lois opened the door, and he smiled at her.

"Hello, Miss Lane." His hands were in his pockets and he looked completely relaxed.

"Yes, and you are…?"

"Joe Smith." He extended his hand and she shook it with a knowing smile.

"Right, Smith."

"Right." The brief pause that followed was incredibly awkward.

Joe cleared his throat. "Well, I would like to formally invite you to the display at the Pentagon tomorrow." He reached into his pocket and handed her a small laminated card in which her name, her photo and the words "Level Two Security Clearance". She pressed the card into her pocket and he nodded at her.

"Well, I'll send a car for you tomorrow at seven a.m. The driver will escort you to the demonstration. I'd also like to say that we in Washington highly respect the Daily Planet, and we'd like you to use your discretion when writing this article. If you wouldn't mind faxing me the finished article directly, I will go over it and make sure that there are no security problems, and then you'll be good to go." He handed her his card and smiled.

Lois nodded, and they shook hands again, and he breezed from the room. She had a strange sinking feeling in her stomach. She'd never had to be censored before, and she hoped that Smith wouldn't make too many changes. This was America for Christ's sake, the government wasn't allowed to curb the press. Free speech was literally the entire first amendment. But, with the Patriot Act still in effect, she wasn't exactly sure what the government was and was not allowed to do. She knew they were tapping phone lines all across America, and if they were able to do that, how long could their arms reach? All the way to the JLA? She shuddered and slid out of her travelling clothes and into a pair of pajama pants, a tank top and her bunny slippers.

She slid between the covers and turned off the light. She groped for her cell phone on the bedside table. She flipped it open and gazed at the screen despondently. The picture of her and Clark glared at her through the darkness. The picture was taken in New York in front of the Empire State Building. As with almost every picture, she was the only one looking at the camera. Her arm was flung around Clark's shoulders, and he was supporting her entire weight. He was gazing at her with such love and lust that it made her heart hurt.

Lois sighed, pressed 2, and then hit send. He picked up on the second ring.

"Hello?" His voice was mostly clear with just the tiniest bit of sleepiness.

"I'm sorry." Her voice was tiny, and she felt like crying.

"Why are you sorry baby?" The voice on the other end softened, and she took a deep breath to steel herself against any tears.

"I'm sorry that I was short with you."

He exhaled noisily. "No, you were right. It wasn't my smartest idea. I'm just getting tired of always having to write about the stock market and boring things."

"I know."

The silence between them didn't stretch for long.

"So what are you and Shelby doing?" She wiggled her toes between the cool sheets, and she could almost hear the smile on the other end.

"Missing you."

"Well, maybe you should come over and stay the night." She tried to say it in an offhand manner, but she knew he could sense the desperation in her voice.

"What about Shelby?" He said innocently and she got quiet. "I'm on my way."

Lois awoke in the morning alone. Clark had always said that he did his best work early in the morning, but five a.m. had been entirely too early. She vaguely remembered him kissing her on the cheek and whispering his love.

She dressed smartly for the presentation, in her sharpest black skirt suit and a yellow blouse. Her hair was twisted up into a bun and she grabbed her yellow legal pad, several pens and her tape recorder, shoving them all into her oversized handbag.

The walk down to the lobby took no time at all, and she noticed the same black car was idling at the curb, the same driver leaning against the passenger side door.

She walked out, pulling her knee length black coat on, smiling as the driver opened the door. Sliding across the cool leather, Lois settled herself in the backseat, unsure of what to expect, but hoping that everything went according to plan. Because, let's face it, when Lex Luthor was involved, things were bound to get crazy.

* * *

Clark arrived at work early, breezing through the two articles that Perry had assigned him. He was sorely tempted to turn them in and take the rest of the day off to go see Lois in D.C. He could also possibly have lunch with his mother if Lois wasn't free.

There was something about the bullpen early in the morning. A skeleton crew of sleepy eyed reporters was all that inhabited the area. He sipped at his coffee and watched as Perry bustled into the bullpen, shouting at several interns before sticking his head into Clark's office.

"Kent. Any word from Lois?"

Clark adjusted his tie and smoothed it down his dress shirt. "Yes, Chief. I spoke with her last night."

"Good, everything was fine?"

"Yes, everything was fine." Clark gave Perry a small smile and the older man nodded.

"Well, here's hoping that everything goes fine with the demonstration. When you get Lex Luthor and Tony Stark in the same room, God only knows what will happen." Perry began to walk out of the room, but Clark was already out of his chair.

"What?" His jaw had dropped open, and Perry almost laughed at the look of shock on the taller man's face.

"She didn't tell you?" He asked, and Clark shook his head.

"Well, there's a big defense contract up at the Pentagon, and both Tony Stark and Lex Luthor are presenting their combat armor today for top army officials. Lois went to do the story for the Daily Planet."

* * *

The driver, who actually turned out to be some sort of CIA agent, escorted Lois into the Pentagon building, which looked smaller on TV than it actually was. The sprawling building was laid out before her, and she felt a pang of nervousness in her stomach. She walked through the doors, and suddenly, there were three more agents, two in front of her on either side, and two behind her on either side. It made her nervous that they thought she needed this much security, like they thought she was going to blow up the government building. She stepped through security, flashing the badge that Smith had given her the night before, and a female agent patted her down and looked in her purse.

"Sorry Miss Lane, we can't allow you to have this." She pulled out Lois's bottle of water and Lois shrugged.

"Will I be able to get some water in there?"

"Of course." The agent smiled at her, and Lois was comforted knowing that this slightly large black woman worked for the government, even if it was just security. She had a very comforting presence, and Lois smiled back at her.

"You'll have to leave your drivers license and cell phone up here with me."

"Sure thing." She handed the woman her drivers license and cell phone, and they were set with several other cell phones that had drivers licenses carefully tucked under them.

As Lois walked away, neither her, nor the security agents around her noticed that the screen on her phone had lit up. The name that popped up read, "Clark Cell."


	22. Chapter 22

A/N: Another friendly reminder-I don't own any of these characters. Also, please review. It makes me happy to know that you are enjoying this fic, and I also enjoy reading constructive criticism. That means, don't leave flames, but constructive advice. Thanks all! The next two chapters are finished, which means another chapter will be following this one within the next few days. Also-I've said it before, I'll say it again-REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW

* * *

Lois strode into the room where the presentation was to take place, flanked by the four security guards. The room was a pristine white, with only a handful of metal folding chairs set behind a thick pane of glass. On the other side of the glass, there was the same pristine white, but without the chairs. Names were taped to the different chairs, with blue folders propped precariously on the seats. She found her name attached to a chair towards the back, and she sat the folder on her lap. She pulled out her legal pad, a pencil and her tape recorder.

There were several military men milling around a coffee pot, and she stood, resting all of her reporting paraphernalia on her seat. She grabbed a bottle of water, and walked back. She could feel the eyes of all the men on her as she walked, and she smiled.

Suddenly, the door opened again, and she swung her head to watch as several men in dark suits walked in, flanked by several generals, which included none other, than Samuel Lane.

* * *

Clark frantically dialed Lois's number again. One again, it went to voicemail after ringing several times.

"This is Lois Lane. Leave me a message after the tone."

"Damn it, Lois. Pick up the Goddamn phone. If I ever get my hands on you, I swear to all that is holy…" He felt like crying. She'd been sent right into the lion's den, and he'd just let her go. God, he was never going to see her again. "Look, I'm sorry. I love you. Come home safe."

He laid his cell phone down, and stared at it, hoping beyond hope that she would come home to him safe.

* * *

Lois shrunk in her seat, hoping beyond hope that her father wouldn't notice her. He honed in on her the moment he walked into the room. Those brown eyes bore right through her, and she wanted to die. Of course her father would be here, the one person who could kill her self confidence just walked into possibly the biggest break in her career.

"Lois." He walked over to her while the other military men headed straight for the snacks and coffee.

"Daddy." She tried to inject as much disdain into her voice as possible, and was a little gratified when he flinched slightly.

Samuel Lane leaned towards her, whispering, "What are you doing here?"

She sighed. "I'm here reporting for the Daily Planet, you know-my job."

"Right." He straightened and took a step back. "We'll talk later."

The door squeaked open again, and Joe Smith walked in. The room quieted almost instantly, and he stepped to the front of the room, turning his back on the glass.

"If everyone could take their seats, we'll get started." He pressed his hands together, and everyone scurried to find their assigned chairs.

"Mr. Stark will be demonstrating his armor first, and then we'll have Mr. Luthor's demonstration." He sat down and signaled to another man who seemed to have appeared out of thin air on the other side of the glass. He nodded and opened a door. The clanking of the armor as it entered the room. It was odd, the glass looked thick, but the group could hear every creak and groan of the metal as it scraped against the joints.

The suit was painted a deep maroon and gold. A dark haired man's head poked out from the suit. A glowing circle was the main attraction of the suit. He carried a matching maroon and gold helmet under his arm. Tony Stark nodded at the group, and then shoved the helmet over his head. The light pulsed gently from his chest.

Suddenly, the door was flung open, and two men, armed with machine guns knelt and took aim. The light pulsed again and Lois and the rest of the government officials watched as the glow spread through the rest of the suit. The bullets bounced harmlessly off of the armor and landed at his feet. While the men stood in shock, the light extended again, rippling through the air. The guns were ripped from the men's hands, and they were thrown backward, hitting the wall.

Sparks began to fly from the boots, and Tony Stark was propelled several feet into the air. He landed with a loud thunk by the disarmed military men. In several minutes, they watched as men with flamethrowers and radios were quickly dispatched. Another pulse of the light and there were six solid looking Tony Starks. A gasp rippled through the crowd, and five of the Tonys collapsed into one. He yanked the helmet from his head, and bowed to the crowd, a cocky grin on his face. He reminded Lois of someone she knew, and it only took several seconds to remember who he reminded her of.

Despite the fact that Mr. Stark had disheveled dark hair, a five o'clock shadow and skin so white it seemed to glow, he distinctly reminded her of Oliver Queen. His eyes bore into her, and he grinned devilishly at her. Oliver was a self-protested family man, but despite all this, he had held onto a certain aura of the rich playboy, and that was the aura that was rolling off Tony Stark. She had no doubt in her mind that when he walked into a party, he could have any woman in the room. But, when you were Superman's fiancée, it was impossible to look at anyone but him. Not that anyone even suspected that she and Superman were an item. To them, Clark Kent and Superman were as far apart from each other on the spectrum as the high school jock and the Star Wars nerd.

Tony Stark disappeared through the same door that he had appeared through, and they were given a short break. Her father was trying to get her attention, but she steadfastly ignored him. She opened the blue packet and quickly read the biography of Tony Stark.

It was surprising, really, how alike he and her cousin's husband really were. He graduated from MIT at the age of 21, and went to work for his father's company, Stark Industries. His father had been a weapons designer during World War II, and had continued his company beyond the war. Tony had been born to a 25 year old mother and a 50-year-old father, about ten years before her. When his father had died right after Tony's graduation from MIT, he'd become head of Stark Industries and had continued his father's legacy. It was funny, almost, to her, that almost every hero, had lost a parent. Perhaps this was what defined them, made them human, and made them believe that no one should have to endure that pain.

The door creaked again, and she watched as the familiar face of Lex Luthor stepped into the room, his entire body encased in shiny steel. On each wrist was a band of green, as well as around the base of each boot. Two green cylinders were strapped to his back.

The funny thing was, his suit seemed to do the same exact thing as Tony's, except his seemed to be more…malevolent. At one point, he shot fire from the green bands on his wrists at the soldiers, and then put it out in the same breath.

When the presentation was over, both men clanked into the room, and everyone stood, clapping politely. Everyone sat back down, and Joe Smith returned to the front of the room. Lois couldn't keep her eyes off of Lex's suit. There was something familiar about the green that was inlaid into the steel. As he came closer to the crowd, she noticed that the two cylinders on his back weren't solid. They looked to be made of glass, filled with green liquid. She leaned forward, narrowing her eyes. The green seemed to be glowing ever so slightly, and it was then that she realized that the green was kryptonite. Her heart sank. A dull ache had appeared in her lower abdomen, and she wasn't sure if it was pure nerves, or the fact that she was due to start her period any day. Lois rummaged around in her purse and popped two Midol, just to be on the safe side.

"Well, do we have any questions?" Joe smiled good-naturedly at the crowd, and Lois's hand shot up into the air.

"Yes. Miss Lane." He pointed to her and she stood, clutching her notepad in one hand and her pen in the other. At the mention of her name, Lex seemed to pale, whereas Tony had the opposite reaction. He flushed, and grinned at her.

"Yes, my question is for both Mr. Luthor and Mr. Stark." The two men nodded, and she continued. "With the nation's concern intently focused on conserving energy, how are you able to power your suits so they can conserve energy and be cost effective, as well as powerful?"

"Well, Ms. Lane, let me assure you, that my suit is completely electric." Tony stepped forward and smiled at her again. "It uses no more electricity than, say, plugging in your hybrid car."

"And you, Mr. Luthor?" She injected as much coldness into her voice as she could, and she was pleased to see that he swallowed nervously. She watched as he collected himself, smiled at her.

"My suit is powered entirely by the meteor rocks that fell in Smallville, Kansas in 1989." Silence greeted this pronouncement, and Lois stuck her hand in the air again.

"What about the rumors that the meteor rocks can cause insanity and paranoia, as is the case with one Selina Kyle who was exposed to a massive amount of meteors and currently resides in Arkham?"

"We at LexCorp are devoted to providing a safe fuel source for the United States Military." He was addressing the room at large now, and Lois was rankled that he was trying to get out of answering her questions. "We have done extensive tests on the meteor rocks, and have found that they do not cause any sort of mental deficiency."

She raised her hand again, and she heard Lex sigh audibly. Her father turned and stared at her, his mouth hanging open slightly. She felt gratified knowing that he had never seen "Mad-Dog Lane" and didn't know how to respond to the person who was his daughter.

"Yes, Miss Lane?"

"Mr. Luthor, did you or did you not tell me several weeks ago that LuthorCorp had stopped researching meteor rocks?" She tapped her pen against her pad of paper.

Her question was greeted with silence, but he finally cleared his throat and said, "Well, Miss Lane, first off, we are no longer LuthorCorp, we are now officially LexCorp. Also, I believe I told you that we had stopped performing experiments with the meteor rocks on crops. You didn't ask me about any of our defensive contracts." He laughed and all the other men laughed as well. Lois flushed but remained standing.

"How do you expect the military to cover medical expenses for soldiers who have had high exposures to meteor rocks?"

"LexCorp will personally cover all medical expenses that result from being exposed to the meteor rocks." He laughed nervously, but all of the military men looked incredibly impressed.

"That is very generous of you, Mr. Luthor, but wouldn't it be more generous to pour more research into an alternative fuel source that maybe won't poison our boys overseas?" She laughed a little, and she was gratified to see several people nodding their heads. Tony Stark was staring at her in complete awe, a small smile playing across his face.

"Refined meteor rocks are cheaper than gasoline and even electricity. There have been no other uses found for meteor rocks, which means we have a surplus of them. Why not use them to power the military?"

"Fine. Mr. Stark, are you planning on adding any weapons mechanisms to your suit as Mr. Luthor did?" She turned slightly, turning all of her attention away from the bald man, who was obviously irritated.

"No, I do not, Miss Lane. My suit is for defensive purposes only. While it does disable the enemy, it in no way harms them. I've added a sleeping gas, which will completely knock out the enemy, giving our soldiers enough time to handcuff them and take them into custody."

Joe smith returned to the front, clearing his throat. "Does anyone else have any questions?"

Lois sat down, preening inwardly. Well, she'd certainly brought Lex Luthor down a few notches. A few more people asked questions, but she zoned out. She had enough to write her article, and she certainly wasn't going to promote Lex's. How could he even think about using kryptonite in his suit? Granted-he wasn't aware that it made Superman sick, but all he had to look at was the record of how many patients of Belle Reve and Arkham came from Smallville. Although, in a way, she was glad that he hadn't bothered to speak to any of them. They would probably all mention Clark or Superman, and drawing attention to him was the last thing she wanted.

The rest of the question and answer section passed in a blur. She was glad that she was taping the rest of the questions, since they could probably be useful. The Midol had done nothing to curb her cramps, and she drank the rest of her bottle of water in hopes that it would help. She scribbled furiously on her legal pad, forming the bare bones of her article, paying little attention to what was going on.

Suddenly, the room was emptying, and she looked around and stood, shoving everything in her bag. Luthor and Stark were already gone, and only her father was left in the room, holding the door open for her.

"Lois." He nodded at her and she smiled.

"Daddy." She breezed from the room, and her security entourage joined her, but her father waved them off.

"Don't worry, I'll escort her." They disappeared, and her and her father walked in silence to the entrance. The security guard smiled at her and handed over her driver's license and cell phone, both of which she shoved in her bag.

"Well, I'll see you later Daddy." She turned and stood on her toes to kiss his cheek and he grasped her shoulder.

"Good work in there, Lo." He smiled at her and she grinned back.

"Thanks Daddy." She slid into the car that was still waiting for her, and it whizzed through the streets of Washington D.C., taking her back to her hotel.

When she arrived at the hotel, she walked through the foyer, entirely pleased with herself. Her cramps were gone and she had just landed the article of a lifetime. She would almost certainly get her Pulitzer now. The elevator took her to her floor, and she stepped off of the elevator, walking down the carpeted hall, with all of its elaborate sconces and wood paneling.

Lois rummaged in her bag for her key card, sliding it into the lock. The door swung open, and she was almost completely knocked off her feet.

* * *

What is it? Did Lex plant a bomb? A thief? Only the next chapter knows!


	23. Chapter 23

Lois immediately jumped into action. She brought her knee up into the groin of her attacker. As her kneecap connected with balls of steel, she screamed.

"Ow! Oh, ow!" She stepped back and clutched at her knee. Clark Kent stood in the doorway of her hotel room, his arms steadying her. He had obviously been over excited to see her and had attempted to grab her and had knocked her off her feet.

"Are you, ok?" He moved his glasses down the bridge of his nose and it was obvious he was x-raying her leg.

"Is my knee broken?"

"No, it looks like it's just bruised."

"Awesome."

He swept her off of her feet and laid her down on the bed.

"What are you doing here?" She rubbed her knee and he glared at her.

"Well, I've been a nervous wreck ever since I found out you were investigating Luthor at the Pentagon."

"What? You knew what I was doing." She was genuinely confused.

"No, I knew you were going to D.C., and that's about all I knew until Perry told me that it was because of Luthor. And if you'd have bothered to check your phone, you would have known that." He sat down in the desk chair that the hotel provided, pulling her phone out of her purse. He pressed two buttons and the tinny little phone voice began to speak.

"You have seven missed messages. First new message." Clark's voice rang through the phone.

"Lois, I just found out the reason you're in D.C., please call me back so I know you're safe."

He pressed the button to delete all of the messages and sighed, running his hand through his hair.

"I'm sorry, I figured since I was at the Pentagon, surrounded by the CIA and the military, there was no way Luthor was going to try anything."

"Lois, you can't know that." He sighed again, and moved to sit next to her. "Look, I know you believe that he's changed, but I can't believe that. After all that he's done, I'm just not sure wiping his memory will turn him into a good person."

She sighed, and he wrapped his arm around her shoulders. "I know. I'm not so sure anymore either."

"What?" He pulled away to look at her. "I thought you were Luthor's biggest champion."

"Look, Luthor's suit, the one that he was presenting to the Pentagon, it's completely powered by kryptonite."

"What?" He pulled away even further, examining her face.

"It's true. And when I expressed concern that kryptonite causes people to go insane, he blew me off." Lois lay down on the bed, and Clark joined her. "He didn't seem at all concerned that the kryptonite could cause insanity. He didn't even mention any research that had been done to put the theory to rest."

"Well, someone has to make the government aware that the meteor rocks cause insanity."

"And that someone is going to be me." She sat up, pulling herself to the side of the bed. She began to limp around the room, gathering her stuff from the bathroom and clothes around the room.

"What are you doing?" He sat up and followed her with his eyes.

"I'm getting my stuff together." She didn't even bother to fold her clothes, just shoved them into her suitcase. "I'm going to go home and get started on my article. And believe me, I intend to write a scathing article on Lex Luthor."

"Stand back." He pushed her back onto the bed, and in a whirl her suitcase was packed, her clothes perfectly folded in her suitcase. He zipped it up. "Alright, I'll take your suitcase home while you check out and come back for you." He grinned at her and then was gone.

* * *

When she arrived home, the first thing she did was sit down at her computer. Clark moved behind her, rubbing her shoulders.

"Did Perry want this in by tomorrow?"

"No, but I'd like to get it done by then. If I write it tonight, it's fresher in my memory." She pulled her iPod and headphones from her bag, shoving the buds into her ears. "Also, I wouldn't be surprised if Perry asked me where the article was first thing in the morning." She grinned and turned her iPod on.

Hours later, when she was printing off the article and e-mailing it to Perry, she pulled the buds out of her ears and watched as the sun rose over the tops of the buildings. It was dawn, and she was due in at the Daily Planet in two hours. She stumbled into the master bedroom. Clark was splayed across the bed, his black hair rumpled. He was floating two inches above the mattress, the blanket covering his waist. She smiled at the image he made.

Clark hadn't floated in his sleep since Lana had kidnapped him. She'd always been able to gauge how happy he was by how high he floated in his sleep. After sex, sometimes she would find him near the ceiling. She was happy to see that he was floating again, and she slipped into bed next to her fiancée.

An hour and a half later, Clark shook her awake for work, she pulled herself out of bed, stumbling into the closet, and emerging well put together. She was clad in her traditional black skirt suit.

Perry almost pissed after he read the article. He was so excited, he made Jeff run down to the presses and run it in the evening edition. The evening edition ran at five, and from the morning until she got off work, her stomach was churning. What would happen when Lex read the article? She supposed that he thought they were friends, but after the way he had treated her after the demonstration, she didn't want anything to do with him. There was something darker lurking beneath the surface. He may have had his entire memory erased, but what about genetic memory? Something in his genes knew that Clark was his enemy. It was why he had subconsciously chosen kryptonite as his suit's power source.

Clark took her home at exactly five o'clock. She changed into her pajamas and lay on the couch. Waiting for the ax to fall was the worst feeling in the world. She wondered how long it would take for Lex to read the article. Would one of his assistants bring him a copy of the paper, or would they hide it from him as long as possible? Or would he see the headline "Stark and Luthor compete for government contract" himself and be intrigued? What would happen then? Would he send a crony after her, or would he come himself to confront her?

"Dinner's ready." Clark stuck his head out of the kitchen, and she stood. They sat across from each other at the kitchen table, and Lois admired the feast in front of her.

He had made roast chicken, mashed potatoes and asparagus, one of her favorite meals. She served herself, and for the first five minutes of the meal, they ate in silence.

"Are you ok?" He asked her, and she nodded.

"Just nervous." She smiled sheepishly at him and he nodded. "You think he'll try and get revenge?"

"Why would he?" Clark gazed at her, startled.

"Because I didn't paint him in a good light." She picked at her potatoes, refusing to meet his eyes.

"Lois, you wrote the truth as you saw it. There's nothing wrong with that. He can't fault you for it." He reached for her, placing his hand over hers.

"I hope so." She scooped up some more potatoes, shoving them into her mouth.

The cell phone in her purse buzzed, and she got up to get it. Her stomach dropped when she saw it was an unknown number.

"Oh my God. What if it's him?" She held the phone in her hand like it was a poisonous snake.

"Lois, just answer it." He smiled at her and she nodded.

"Hello?" She squeaked into the phone.

"Miss Lane, this is Jessica Majors, Mr. Luthor's assistant. He'd like to meet with you sometime this week." The voice on the other end of the phone was perky and inevitably blonde.

Lois was gesturing wildly at Clark, and he nodded reassuringly at her.

"Uh, sure. How about coffee at the Starbucks at 5th and Grand at 9 am tomorrow?" She asked nervously.

"He has a meeting at eight, but it should be over by ten. He has exactly one hour between ten and eleven when he can meet you. Does that work?"

"Sure. I'll see him then." Lois hung up, and turned to Clark. In an instant, he was in front of her, clutching her arms.

"Lois?" He rubbed a large hand up and down her arm, and it wasn't until he did that, that she noticed she was shaking.

"I'm meeting him at ten tomorrow morning at the Starbucks by the Daily Planet."

Clark ran a hand through her hair. "I'm coming with you."

She nodded and wrapped her arms around his waist. He rested his chin on the top of her head. It always amazed him how perfectly she fit in his arms. Her head always rested in the same spot, right in the crook of his neck. Her warm breath played lightly across his skin and he shivered.

"I'm afraid." She pulled away to look up into his face, and he cupped her face lightly in his hands.

"You have nothing to be afraid of. I'll be right there."

She nodded again and sighed. "I'm going to bed. I'm tired."

"Ok, I'll wrap up dinner and we'll have it for lunch tomorrow." He meandered back into the kitchen, and Lois walked into the bedroom, plopping down on her stomach in the middle. Her face pressed against Clark's pillow, inhaling the cologne that had permeated the fabric of the pillowcase.

Suddenly, he was looming over her, smiling down at her. "Scoot over."

She smiled back, and slid across the bed. He lay down next to her, sliding one arm under her head and draping the other across her waist.

"Everything will be fine. Don't worry about it." He kissed the tip of her nose and she nodded again.

"I love you."

"Love you too."

* * *

The next morning, Lois and Clark sat next to each other at the Starbucks, Lois clutching at her cinnamon soy latte, Clark attempting to look non-assuming. He was in his standard rumpled suit, slouching slightly. One of his large hands rested on her knee, which was jumping nervously. Her eyes darted around the room nervously.

"Lois, calm down. You'll be fine." He whispered to her, and she nodded, the jumping of her leg slowing.

A breeze blew through the door, and there he was-Lex Luthor-standing in the doorway, a dark figure against the bustling city. He seemed to move in slow motion towards them, and both Lois and Clark stood as he approached them.

"Mr. Luthor." Lois said coldly, extending her hand to shake his and Clark did the same.

"Lois." They all sat at the table, and for a moment, there was silence, until Lex decided to speak. "I understood we'd be meeting in private." He nodded at Clark and Lois shrugged.

"Anything you have to say to me can be said in front of Clark." She grasped Clark's hand, and Lex looked between them, then shrugged.

"Yes, I wanted to discuss the article that you wrote after the demonstration." He tapped his fingers on the table and Lois nodded.

"What about it?"

"I thought we understood each other." He smiled at her, and she felt a chill run down her spine.

"I don't know what gave you that assumption." She took a sip of her coffee, and then sat the cup down. "I thought I made myself very clear at the demonstration that I didn't approve of the use of green meteor rock as a fuel source."

"I thought despite our little, ah, disagreement, you would at least write a fair and impartial article." He was gazing at her through clear grey eyes, and Lois suddenly felt a lot stronger.

"I did. The public has the right to know the affects the meteor rocks have. I just wrote what I know."

Lex sighed, but nodded. "I guess I have to respect that. Have a good day, Miss Lane." And with that, he was gone, the bells on the door jangling as it was thrown open, and Lex Luthor stepped out into the sunlit sidewalk.

It wasn't until after Lois and Clark were walking out of the café themselves, that she realized Lex hadn't asked her to retract the article, or even attempted to change her mind.


	24. Chapter 24

A few weeks after Lois had met with Lex Luthor was the first day both Lois and Clark had off from work and patrol. It was a Sunday, and Lois sat at the kitchen table, one leg tucked up under her. She was flipping through a magazine, when there was a thump on the door that signaled the delivery of the Sunday edition of the _Daily Planet_. Clark was still asleep, so she went to the door and grabbed the paper, flipping it open. Blazoned across the front page was the article "Stark Withdraws from Government Contract Bid" by Clark Kent.

She knew that he had been working on the article, and she had let him do it. Lately she hadn't been feeling well, which was precisely the reason she was awake at six a.m. on a Sunday. She'd awoken with queasiness, but that had been happening for a few days, but it was just a stomach bug.

Lois read the article with growing pride. It was really well written. She set the paper down and climbed back in bed with her fiancée. He was splayed across the bed, having moved into her spot after she had gotten up. She pressed her cheek against his warm skin, and was dozing off when he slid out from under her. She sat up, and the sudden movement made her ill. She ran to the bathroom, pushing him out of the way.

"Lois? Are you ok?" He asked from the doorway of the bathroom as she kneeled in front of the toilet, dry heaving.

"Yeah, it's just this damn stomach bug." She wiped her mouth, then stood, pouring a capful of mouthwash into her mouth and swishing it around. She spat into the washbasin, and smiled at him. "I just read the article, it was wonderful."

Lois wrapped her arms around his neck and she kissed him thoroughly. He smiled, and they walked out to the kitchen. He smiled down at the article, and began flipping through the paper. She put the kettle on the stove for tea.

"Uh, have you read the rest of the paper?" Clark was clutching a section of the _Daily Planet_ and she shook her head.

"No, why?"

"You might want to read this." He handed her the paper, and she shook it out. It was the gossip section, and the front of the section had a picture of her and Superman. It was from about two weeks ago, at the top of the Daily Planet building. She had been running late for work, so Clark had flown her to work. In the picture, he was still cradling her, and her hand was resting on his face. They were gazing at each other in mutual adoration. The headline read, "Superman or home wrecker?" The byline said, "Cat Grant".

"Shit." She tossed it down on the table and plopped down in a chair. She rested her elbows on the kitchen table, and put her head in her hands. "I'll kill her."

"No you won't." He sat down next to her, placing his hand over hers.

"No, I won't. How'd she even get that picture?" She looked at it in fury.

"Who knows? Maybe there was a photographer in a different building?" Clark shrugged. It's no big deal.

"It _is_ a big deal, Clark!" She pushed away from the table and began pacing around the kitchen. "What if people begin making the connection between you and Superman? I mean-they know I'm with you, and when they see this picture…" She stopped in front of him. "Oh my God. What if Lex makes the connection?" She sat back down again.

"Lois, nothing bad is going to happen. You need to chill out." He grinned at her, but she shook her head.

"No, I think we should at least present our predicament to Chloe and Oliver. They'll know what to do."

"Sure. Do you want to go today?"

Lois stood and walked into the bedroom, taking off her clothes. "Yeah, we should head over there today. We haven't seen Bobby in awhile, and I guess we should see them before the christening next week."

Clark followed her, slipping out of his pajama pants as he went. She turned to look at him, and grinned at the sight that met her. Her beautiful, Greek god of a fiancée was standing completely naked in their bedroom, all ten inches of him free. She walked towards him, and wrapped her arms around his neck. He was completely aware of her entire body pressing up against his. Every nerve tingled as her softness molded completely to him. Clark placed his arms on her waist, and slid his hands down to cup her buttocks, pressing her more firmly to him. He bent down to put his face in her neck. There was something different about her. Normally, he could tune into her heartbeat from anywhere at any time, but now, it was strange. It was like a fog over her heartbeat, like some other noise was covering it. It didn't sound serious, but several times over the past few weeks, he'd considered mentioning something to her.

Lois stood on tiptoes to kiss him. His tongue swept along her plush bottom lip, and she groaned before opening her mouth to him. His tongue snaked into the heated cavern of her mouth. She could feel his erection pressing against her belly, and she pulled away. She backed up slowly, and then arranged herself as seductively as she could on the bed, and he grinned.

Clark positioned himself over her, laying his body along hers. She brought her knees up, and he moved between them easily. His hands went to her breasts. She moaned and arched against him as he rolled her nipples between his thumbs and forefingers. He slid his hands down her body, running his thumb along her heated seam.

Lois began to pant as he gently squeezed her clit, and then rubbed his thumb over it. "Clark, just do it!"

He smiled mischievously at her. "Impatient, are we?"

"God, yes." She tossed her head to the side before reaching between them, grasping the base of his cock. He gasped and bore into her. She spread her knees further apart so he could go deeper.

Something was different. Every sensation was heightened. Electricity was running down her nerves and shooting through her veins. She wrapped her legs around him, pressing her heels into his thighs.

At first, his thrusts were slow, almost lazy. Her hips met his and she groaned in frustration. "Clark!"

He sped up, and watched as her eyes fluttered closed and sweat beaded on her forehead, running down into her eyes. He didn't think he could ever get enough of just watching her like this. She gasped, and drew her knees tighter around him.

"Lois." He said her name and she came with a gasp and a shudder. Her muscles squeezed around him and he groaned as he emptied into her.

They stayed like that, with him buried inside of her for several minutes, until he slid out of her, rolling onto the bed next to her. He slipped an arm under her neck, and she placed a hand on his pec, letting her eyes drift closed.

"We're going to be late, you know. We'll probably catch them at breakfast." He whispered into the curls of her hair and she sighed.

"I know. I'm just so tired," she said wearily.

"We can go a different day, can't we?" He asked, and she shook her head, pulling away from him.

"No, we should go today. Get it over with." She sat on the edge of the bed. "I'm going to hop in the shower first, then we can go. Want to join me?"

"Sure. I'll wash your back." He got up and together they went into the bathroom.

* * *

A few hours later, they were sitting at the Queen dining room table, being served eggs Benedict, when Lois brought up the issue of the article. She had folded it neatly in her purse, and she tugged it out, smoothing it on the table.

Chloe skimmed it, gasping in all the right places. "What are you guys going to do?" She asked and Lois shook her head.

"I don't know. What do you think?" She pressed her hands to the table and both Chloe and Oliver considered the question.

"I don't know what to think. We should present this to the rest of the JLA, see what they think." Oliver shrugged.

"Can you call a meeting for later this evening?" Lois asked anxiously.

"Sure. Not everyone will be able to make it. I know Dinah's doing something Singapore, and unless it's an emergency, I wouldn't want to bring her back." Chloe said as she cradled Bobby, trying to push the nipple of a bottle past his lips.

"That's understandable." Lois nodded. "Ok, let everyone know that we're going to meet at Watchtower at 7, would you Chlo?"

"Sure thing." She smiled down at her son, who smiled happily up at her.

Lois dug greedily into her breakfast. Whenever possible she tried to eat over at the Queen residence. Since Oliver employed a five star chef, it was like going out to eat, except free.

After breakfast, the rest of the day was spent laying around the Queen residence, playing with Bobby and watching movies. Chloe had managed to wrangle up the majority of the JLA, except for Dinah of course. So, when seven o'clock rolled around, the four adults and Bobby hopped in Oliver's limo to head over to Watchtower.

Diana and Bruce were already there, in full costume, talking in whispers by a window. Hal and Bart were playing Wii bowling, even though Bruce had expressly forbidden any forms of entertainment in Watchtower. Lois wasn't sure why Bruce believed he had any right to order people around, considering Watchtower was owned by Queen Industries and with Oliver being busy with the baby and work, Clark was the de facto leader of the JLA.

"Ok everyone, I think this is it." Oliver said to the room at large, and everyone stopped what they were doing and moved into it's standard circle.

"Wait, where are Aquaman and Cyborg?" Lois looked around the circle.

"They're on patrol." Oliver told her, and she nodded.

"Ok, so the reason we're here is to discuss this." Chloe passed around the article and gave everyone a few minutes to read it.

"Why do we have to be here for this?" Diana said nastily, and Chloe glared at her.

"We need some advice. With this picture, Lois is concerned about Clark's cover being blown, and I have to say I am too." Chloe said frankly, and both Hal and Bart nodded.

"So, we need to find a way to diffuse this situation. What do you guys think?" Lois asked, and there was silence for a few minutes.

"I have an idea." Bruce stepped forward, and all eyes turned to him. "I think it would be wise to separate for awhile, to throw suspicion off of Clark being Superman. Put the word out that Superman is seeing someone else, have him photographed with that person. It could also be beneficial to put out that you two have broken up. And when you eventually get back together, _lay low_." Bruce stressed the last part, glaring at Clark, who flushed.

"Is that really necessary?" Lois asked, panicky, and Bruce shrugged.

"If you really want to put all these rumors to rest, I think it's the only way."

Lois turned to Clark, who looked at her anxiously before turning to the rest of the group. "What would this whole thing entail?"

"You two could separate for awhile, Clark could move back to the farm. Lois could be photographed with someone else, Superman should go on several dates with someone else, after a few weeks Lois and Clark can get back together, but Superman should be photographed every week with the other person." Bruce said it nonchalantly, but something didn't sit right with Lois. This was too elaborate. This had been planned.

Diana was grinning gleefully, and it took all of Lois's strength not to punch her in the face.

"Ok, if that's what all of you think, then I guess we should do it." Clark nodded and Lois squawked in indignation.

"Really?"

Clark nodded. "If it's the only way we can protect you and my identity, then yes."

Lois deflated. "Alright. I guess. You think Dinah would be willing to be Superman's 'girlfriend'?"

Chloe shook her head. "I doubt it. Dinah's in Singapore for the next few weeks and we should probably get on this right away."

"Who else is left?" Lois looked around the circle and Diana stepped forward.

"I think that I am the obvious choice here." She was looking at Clark like a cat who had been given an extremely large fish.

"And why is that?" Lois said nastily. Wonder Woman raised her eyebrows.

"Everyone already thinks that Superman and I should be together, so it's only natural that we should be together."

The sinking feeling in Lois's stomach was growing greater, but she had to concede it was a good plan.

"Ok, but then who'll be my new 'boyfriend'?" She asked, and she wasn't surprised when Hal Jordan stepped forward.

"I'll do it." He said easily, grinning at Lois.

"What about Carol?"

Hal shrugged. "Carol's in L.A. for the next few weeks, working on some big government contract. As long as I let her know what's going on, I don't think she'll care."

Clark was glaring at the Green Lantern, who walked forward and put his hand on Superman's shoulder.

"I'll take good care of her. Nothing will happen." Hal smiled reassuringly, and Clark stopped glaring. It was like he was seeing Hal Jordan for the first time. Clark had always dismissed the younger man, believing he was brash, foolhardy and full of bravado, but now he could see. The man actually cared for him and Lois.

He sighed. "I know you will."

* * *

Later, when Clark was gathering up his clothes and toiletries to go back to the farm, Lois sat in the middle of their big bed, looking lost amongst the mess. As he zipped up his suitcase, he noticed she was crying.

"Hey, none of this." He sat down next to her, wrapping a big arm around her shoulders as she shook with sobs.

"I don't want you to go." She whispered, and he pulled her into his lap.

"I know. I don't want to go either. But it's what's best. Bruce said four weeks, tops. Probably before then." He kissed the top of her hair, burying his nose in her silky curls.

"I'll miss you." She whispered into his shirt and he sighed.

"What if I come back every night? I don't have to sleep there…I just have to make it look like we're separated. I could sneak back at night."

Lois sighed. "As much as I would love that, I don't think it's a good idea. We should try and make this as believable as possible."

"I know." He squeezed her, then stood, turning to set her back on the bed. Clark brushed his lips against hers, running his fingers through her hair. "I'll see you at work tomorrow, and at least pretend to be mad at me for breaking your heart?"

Lois smiled through her tears. "Alright."

"I love you, Lois. More than anything. We'll fix this."

"I love you too."


	25. Chapter 25

A/N: Ok, so I had Lois and Clark "break up" to throw the scent off of Clark being Superman. I know it would be easy for Superman to be with someone else and Lois and Clark to remain together, but this way, it's a definite thing, and we all know that Lois is willing to do anything to protect Clark's identity. Cat, being a little bitch, would willingly speculate that Clark is Superman. Sorry if it upset anyone or was confusing, but I've enjoyed writing Lois with Hal and having Clark be a little jealous of Hal.

* * *

Lois awoke feeling cold. She reached to the other side of the bed, and realized that no one was there. She brought her knees up to her chest, pulling the comforter up over her head.

"Rise and shine buttercup!" There was a pounding on the door and she groaned.

"Go away!"

"Not gonna happen sugar." The pounding continued and she pulled herself out of bed and staggered to the door.

"What?" She snarled. Hal Jordan stood on the other side of the door, a pastry box with a drink tray on top of it with two cups of coffee in it.

She leaned forward, sniffing hopefully. Usually the smell of coffee was so enticing, she couldn't help but have a cup. The smell hit her nostrils, and it seemed to hit her stomach like a punch. She clenched her jaw shut and ran for the bathroom.

"Hey!" Hal was right behind her. She slammed the door in his face, but he ignored it. She was kneeling in front of the toilet, gagging, and he sat on the edge of the tub, rubbing her back. "You ok, Lane?"

"Yeah, I just can't shake this stomach bug. I'm actually starting to get worried." She straightened, and then stood.

"Ok, we're going to see Emil." He grasped her elbow and she dug in her heels.

"No, seriously, I'm fine."

"No, seriously, you're going." He glared at her and she wrenched her arm away from him.

"What are you even doing here?" She walked back into the bedroom and slid under the covers, burying her face in Clark's pillow.

"I am officially your new love interest." He leaned against the bathroom doorframe and grinned conspiratorially at her.

"What?" She sat up, allowing the blankets to fall from her shoulders.

"Yep, we are officially an item. So get moving baby, I'm gonna walk you to work after we go see Emil, that is." He yanked the blanket off the bed and she groaned, lying back down.

"Come on, up and at 'em, Lane." He grabbed her feet and dragged her towards him.

"Ok. Ok. I'm awake." She sat up and walked into the bathroom. "I'll be back in fifteen. Don't follow me." She glared at him and he grinned.

Lois walked out of the bathroom, showered and dressed, but still looking green around the gills.

"So I take it you don't want your maple donut and coffee?" He asked, gesturing to the box and tray that was resting on the table.

She shook her head and sat down at the table, resting her head in her hands. "Ok, remind me of our story again?"

"Ok, so we met when we were kids on an Air Force base and we recently reconnected. Clark broke up with you, so you've run into my loving arms." He held his arms open for her, and she glared.

"Do you, or do you not remember the rules?" She asked, standing, putting her hands on her hips.

"Yeah, yeah, I remember. Kisses on the cheek, acceptable. Kisses on the mouth, unacceptable. Nothing was said about hugs or handholding." He shrugged, putting his hands in his pockets. "In fact, if it's going to be believable, we should probably hold hands and hug."

Lois nodded. "Alright, let's go." She grabbed her coat and purse and he followed her.

* * *

Hal sat in Watchtower on one of the couches, flipping through the channels on the T.V. He'd forced Lois to go see Emil. He wasn't having her getting sick on his watch. After Lois had gone to bed after the meeting, he and Clark had met on top of the Daily Planet building. They both agreed that just because Lex hadn't retaliated against the article, didn't mean he wouldn't, which meant Lois needed protection 24/7. He'd promised Supes that he'd keep an eye on his fiancée, and he didn't intend to let the Kryptonian down. If their roles were reversed, he would want Clark with Carol at all times.

Lois emerged from the makeshift hospital room, rubbing her arm and wrinkling her nose.

"Everything ok?" He turned off the T.V. and dropped the remote.

"Yeah, he took some blood and he's going to get back with me." She sat down next to him, and he wrapped an arm around her.

"It'll be fine, you'll see." He smiled at her and she nodded.

"Well, I should get to work." Lois stood, smoothing out her skirt and he nodded, standing as well.

"Come on then." He grabbed her hand and they walked out onto the street, hands clasped together firmly.

* * *

Lois completely forgot how much she enjoyed hanging out with Hal Jordan. They were so alike sometimes, it was scary. They both grew up on military bases, and they both were driven. It was good to have someone who understood her who wasn't Clark. Before they entered the building, Lois nodded and Hal wrapped his arm around her. The smell of his soft brown leather bomber jacket invaded her senses. It smelled completely foreign, but nice. They took the elevator up, and it seemed like all eyes turned on them.

"Here we go, Lane." He smiled and she laughed.

"So anyway, what time do you want to meet for dinner?" She turned on all of her charm, gazing up into his face. He took the sudden shift in mood completely in stride.

"I'll pick you up after work and we'll go to that new place…what's it called?" They had arrived at the door to her and Clark's office.

"Mosaics?" They were standing inches away from each other. He wasn't as tall nor as broad as Clark, but he had the same commanding presence. Maybe it was a superhero thing, but most of the guys she knew had a certain presence about them.

"Yeah…Mosaics." He half smiled at her. "See you at five, sugar." He pressed his lips to her forehead and she smiled. His presence was so comforting, like an older brother.

"Bye baby." She grinned as he walked away. He turned to wave at her, and then disappeared down the staircase.

Lois turned and walked back into her and Clark's office. He was sitting at his desk, looking steadfastly at his computer screen. She shut the door to the office, and went to sit on his desk. He looked up at her sadly.

"I missed you last night." She ran a hand through his hair and he nodded.

"I missed you too." He rested a hand on her knee, leaning into her touch.

They rested like that for a while, until Lois finally pulled away. "So when is your big date with Wonder Woman?" She asked, walking over to her computer.

"Tomorrow." He looked at her warily.

"Well, have fun." She sat down at her desk, and he looked over his computer at her.

"Are you sure you're ok with this?"

"Of course. It's the only logical thing to do."

"Lois, I know it's logical, but we don't have to do this." He stood and walked over to her desk.

"Clark, yes, we do. It's the only way. Just a month, right?" She placed her hand on his and he nodded.

"Just promise me you won't let Diana worm her way into your affections?" She worried her bottom lip between her teeth and he grabbed her hand.

"You know you're the only girl for me." He pressed his lips to her forehead, and she sighed.

"We should probably do some work." She said reluctantly and he nodded.

They sat across from each other, working in complete silence. As her fingers danced across the keyboard, she realized that she hadn't yet taken off her engagement ring. It came off of her finger with one tug, and she unclasped the necklace she wore, putting the ring on the chain where it could hang next to the pendant.

Clark was looking at her miserably. She returned his look, and he nodded. The ring lay heavily on her breastbone. It just wasn't the same. She was used to looking down at her finger and seeing the ring glinting back up at her. Her left hand looked bare without it.

"Lois?" There was a light knock, and Jennifer, one of the interns, stepped into the room. "Can I talk to you for a minute?"

"Sure." She followed the petite blonde out into the bullpen.

"Who was that guy that walked you in this morning?" She was looking at Lois conspiratorially. "He was hot. Think you could fix us up?"

Lois cleared her throat uncomfortably. "Actually, that's my boyfriend. Hal." The words left her lips and hung between the two women. It was weird, calling Hal her boyfriend. He just wasn't the boyfriend type.

"What?" Jennifer squealed, grabbing Lois's arm and dragging her. The smaller woman was surprisingly strong for her stature. She flung open the door to the supply room, dragging Lois in.

Jennifer threw her arms around Lois, wrapping her in a tight hug. "Lois, honey, are you ok? What happened?" She rubbed her back comfortingly, and Lois was surprised that this actually felt nice. She didn't have very many female friends, and Jennifer had always been sweet to her. She could actually feel tears building behind her eyes.

"Uhm." The tears began to flow, and suddenly she was sobbing into the younger woman's shoulder.

"It's ok, sweetie. Let it all out." Jennifer continued to rub Lois's back, and after about five minutes, she felt her tears slowing. She pulled away to look at the blonde, who was gazing at her pitifully.

"Clark broke up with me." It hurt to say those words, even though she knew they weren't true.

"That bastard. I'll kill him." She snarled.

"No, really, it's fine." She said as Jennifer handed her a tissue.

"What happened?"

"Uh, well, he said he wasn't ready to get married and maybe we should take a break for awhile." Lois shrugged and Jennifer snorted.

"A man with commitment issues. Big surprise." She rolled her eyes and Lois laughed. "So who's the new man?"

"Oh, Hal's just an old friend. We grew up together on the military base, and he's back in town for a while. He asked me to dinner tonight."

"Good. Get back out on the field." She smiled reassuringly at her.

"Ok. Thanks, Jennifer."

"No prob, Bob." She grinned toothily, and Lois opened the door, walking back out into the bullpen.

When she arrived back at her and Clark's office, Clark was looking at her forlornly. It was obvious he had heard the entire conversation, and she smiled the same smile back at him, and sat down at her desk.

The day seemed to go by incredibly slow. When five o'clock rolled around, she couldn't wait to get out of the tiny office. It was agonizing sitting across from the one man she couldn't touch.

A light knock on the door drew her from her reverie. She turned to the door, which pushed open to reveal Hal Jordan. He looked pretty much the same as he had earlier in the day. The only difference was he had changed his plain white tee shirt for a bottle green button down. He wore the same frayed jeans, bomber jacket and scuffed chucks.

"My lady. Your chariot awaits." He bowed mockingly to her, and she grinned.

Clark glared at him, and Hal looked at the fellow superhero apologetically. Lois grabbed her stuff, slinging her bag over her shoulder. She walked around her and Clark's desk, resting a hand on her fiancee's shoulder. She looked at Hal significantly, and he nodded, blocking the entirety of the doorway, completely spreading out. She brushed her lips across Clark's, and he grabbed her hand, kissing her back.

"I love you. Be safe." He whispered and she nodded.

"I love you too."

* * *

Lois and Hal breezed into Mosaic's, looking for all the world like Metropolis's new "it" couple. His arm was wrapped protectively around her, and the hostess glanced at her jealously as she led them to their booth. They sat across from each other, and Hall grinned foolishly at her.

"You think they're buying this whole 'so in love' thing?" He asked out of the corner of his mouth.

"I don't know if our goings on are very paparazzi. Clark and Diana will probably get more press tomorrow." She said sourly, and Hall grinned again.

"Yeah, you're probably right." His eyes darted around the room. "Bruce did say he was going to alert the _Daily Planet_."

"God, I hope Cat Grant doesn't show up to write the story." She tapped her fingers nervously against the white tablecloth. The waiter approached, a broad smile on his face.

"Can I take your order Miss Lane?" He completely ignored Hal and Lois looked at him, baffled.

"Uh, yeah. We'll start off with a bottle of champagne while we look over the menu. Thanks." Hal spoke for both of them, and the waiter nodded before scurrying off. "I don't think you're aware of how famous and well liked you are."

Lois snorted her derision, but Hal shook his head.

"I'm serious, Lo. How do you think I got a reservation at the swankiest place in town? It sure as hell wasn't by giving them my name."

"You mean Bruce or Ollie didn't get it for you?"

"Nope. I told the hostess that Lois Lane and her new boyfriend wanted to have dinner here tonight, and suddenly it was, 'Does 6 work for Miss Lane? Or would 7 be better?'"

"Are you kidding me?" She rested her elbows on the table, leaning forward.

"Nope." He raised his eyebrows. "This place is probably hoping you'll tell the food editor you loved your meal here and give them a good review."

Lois was stunned. Did people really think of her like that? The waiter approached, a bottle of chilled wine, two champagne flutes and two small plates on a tray.

He deftly opened the bottle of champagne and poured them into the flutes. "Miss Lane, the chef would like to offer you an amuse-bouche, on the house."

"Oh, uh, sure." She looked at Hal confused, and he smiled at her confusion. The waiter set the small plates in front of each of them. "What you have here is a cherry tomato, halved and filled with Hawaiian pickled onions. It is topped with Lomi salmon, a curl of green onion and smoked salt. Please enjoy." He gestured to the food, and then walked away.

"What was that about? What's an amuse-bouche?" Lois asked.

"Chefs occasionally give out what they call, amuse-bouche, which means amuse the mouth in French." Hal explained. "It's something to prepare your taste buds for the meal and to get you used to the chef's way of cooking."

Lois popped the cherry tomato half in her mouth, allowing the smoked salmon to melt on her tongue. The tomato was a bright pop of flavor in her mouth, and the sourness of the onions set it off nicely.

"Mmm." She moaned at the flavor. "This is delicious."

"Mmhmm." He nodded.

The meal passed pretty uneventfully. Mosaic's, as it turned out, was a Hawaiian fusion restaurant. Hal had gotten the seafood trio, a combination of lobster tail, scallops and shrimp, set on top of a pesto risotto that was dotted with mushrooms. Lois had gone a little more conventional, opting for the macadamia nut encrusted mahi mahi with garlic mashed potatoes and oven roasted asparagus. It wasn't until dessert, which was a chocolate lava cake with raspberry sauce, when a photographer and one of Cat Grant's underlings, Alexandria Timon, showed up.

"Lois! Lois Lane!" Alex struggled to get past the hostess, who was blocking her path, and was waving her pad of paper in the air.

"Ignore her." Hal reached for her hand. The frantic clicking of the camera was distracting.

"We might as well give them something." Lois shrugged, sliding from her side of the booth. She sat down next to Hal, and he wrapped his arm around her. Picking up a spoon, she dipped it into the soft cake. Then, she held the spoon out for him, and put it in his mouth.

"Mmm. Good." He licked his lips.

"Wait, you have something. I'll get it." She reached out, and swiped a small dot of chocolate off of the corner of his mouth. The clicking of the camera had suddenly pervaded all of her senses, and she needed to get out of there. She wished it were Clark sitting next to her instead of Hal Jordan.

"Can we get out of here? I want to go home." She felt like crying. He gazed at her thoughtfully and nodded.

Hal dropped several bills on the table, and, grasping her hand, she pulled him from the booth. He pushed the cameraman away, and in seconds they were in a cab, speeding toward her apartment.

"You ok?" He asked, and she nodded tearfully. "Hey…it's ok to be upset, you know."

"I know. I just didn't think my life would turn out like this…one deceit after another." She ran her hands across her face. "All I want to do is live a life with the man I love, is that too much to ask?"

Hal shrugged. "We don't always get what we want, hon. Especially us. We give up so much of our lives to helping others, that we forget that if we don't look out for ourselves, no one else will."

She nodded, and they sat in silence. When the cab pulled up to her apartment, he opened the door for her, and walked her to her door.

"Look, I just wanted to say that-everything's going to work out in the end. You have to trust that. The paparazzi is fickle. They'll drop you like a hot potato when something bigger comes along, and tomorrow, when Supes is on his 'date' with Wonder Woman, you and I'll be old news. Then you and Clark can get back together and life will be back to normal. You'll see." Hal smiled reassuringly at her and she wrapped her arms around his waist.

"You're a good friend, Hal."

He hugged her back, but then laughed, pulling away. "Just remember that when my birthday comes around."

"You got it." She grinned at him, and he pulled his ring from an inside pocket of his bomber jacket.

"Well, I gotta get going. I'm on patrol tonight, then I'm gonna go out and see Carol."

"Be safe, and have a good time." She said as he stepped away from her.

"You got it, dude." He said, slipping the faintly glowing green ring onto his finger. In a flash, Hal Jordan was gone, and the Green Lantern was taking off into the night sky, a streak of neon green in the darkness.


	26. Chapter 26

A/N: Hope you have enjoyed the last few chapters. Things will get better soon, just remember, it's not Smallville without some drama!

* * *

Clark was stressed out. He woke up late, and despite the fact that it only took him five minutes to get to Metropolis, he walked into work five minutes later than planned. Bruce had scheduled a weird save at noon. It was hands down, one of the oddest things he'd ever had to do. Oliver was dress up as a new villain and attack Diana. It was completely ridiculous because there was no way Oliver, a fairly average person, despite being a superhero, could do any real damage to Diana, who was incredibly strong and agile. Clark would then swoop in and save Diana, who would do the whole damsel in distress bit.

He bustled through the bullpen, tugging his tie straight. He pushed open the door to his and Lois's office. Lois was on the computer, typing, and Hal Jordan was sitting lazily on the love seat that was pushed up against the wall. He had his phone out, paying little attention to his surroundings.

Clark knew it shouldn't bother him, this whole Hal and Lois thing, that it was all an act, but it did. Hell, he had been the one to ask Hal to stay with Lois almost 24/7, and it did make him feel good to know that she had a JLA member with her all the time, but it still hurt. She looked up when the door opened, smiling warmly at him.

God he missed her. He had spent the entire night tossing and turning in his old bed at the farmhouse. He had woken several times throughout the night, reaching for a person who wasn't there. He kicked the door closed behind him, and she stood, reaching for him. He pulled her out of the view of the windows, nodding at Hal, who completely ignored them.

She wrapped her arms around his waist, resting her head on his chest. He pushed his large hands through her hair, inhaling deeply.

"I've missed you." She said into the stiff fabric of his dress shirt.

"I missed you, too." He pulled away and sighed, looking at her.

"What time is the show?" Lois asked, sitting back down at her computer.

"Noon." He wrinkled his nose, plopping down at his computer.

"Well, I'm sorry I'll miss it." She raised her eyebrows, continuing to type on her computer.

"Why will you be missing it?" He pulled his glasses off to look at her more fully.

"I have an appointment with Emil at 11:45."

"Why? Are you ok?"

"Oh, yeah. I had some blood work done because of my food poisoning, and he just wanted to go over it with me." She smiled reassuringly.

"Oh, ok." He smiled back, and then got to work himself.

By the time 11:30 rolled around, Clark's teeth were on edge. He liked Hal Jordan, but having him around all the time was disconcerting. Even though he wasn't a threat, it still irked him. Lois was gathering her stuff together, and Hal was leaning in the doorway, waiting for her. He was staring at Clark with his clear green eyes, obviously assessing him.

Clark returned his gaze, and the fighter pilot nodded knowingly.

"Ok, I'm ready." Lois had enough paperwork shoved into her messenger bag to break her shoulder. She was leaning heavily and Hal smiled, slipping the bag off of her shoulder and putting it around his own.

"I'll see you tomorrow?" She whispered and Clark nodded. They'd already decided that he'd sneak into the apartment tomorrow, and they'd spend the entire day watching movies and catching up on each other's week. Lois was taking off now, having decided to get a jump start on the weekend by a half day.

"Sure thing." He smiled, and watched as Hal guided his fiancée out of the room.

He wondered when he should head out. Oliver was going to attack Diana as Roboman at 11:50, engage her in a fight for exactly ten minutes before Clark was to swoop in, defeat Roboman, and save Diana. He was sorely tempted to watch how it went down, and after a few minutes of debate, he decided to go for it.

"Perry, I'm going to go grab some lunch. I'll be back in an hour." He stuck his head in the chief's office, and Perry nodded.

"Sure thing, Kent. Grab me a Cuban sandwich from Ernesto's while you're out, will you?"

"Sure." He headed out, weaving around people, completely lost in thought. He didn't trust the roof anymore, so he found an old telephone box in an alleyway to change. In a whir, he was Superman, and he flew toward the corner of 21st and Elm, where the attack was supposed to take place. He landed on the roof of a skyscraper, the tallest in the area, to make sure he couldn't be seen. It was the busiest part of town during lunch, which is exactly why Bruce had chosen it. He did a quick scan of the surrounding area, and saw Oliver in an elaborate robot suit, hiding in a nondescript white moving truck parked on the street. He was going to smash a few cars (which he would of course pay for later), and then Diana would fly in. From there, they were going to wing it.

Diana landed next to him with a soft thump. "Are you ready for this?" She asked, and he nodded.

"Let's just get it over with."

"Alright." She hooked her Bluetooth headset in her ear. "Oliver, let's go. It's almost noon anyway."

Suddenly, the door to the van burst open, and the robot that was driven by Oliver was smashing car windows. Clark rolled his eyes. The fact that a giant evil robot was attacking Metropolis felt more than a little ridiculous to him. But, considering the history of crazy villains that Metropolis had, he guessed it wasn't that strange. The people on the ground weren't tremendously fazed. They all ducked out of sight into stores and buildings, like it was a fire drill. Diana leapt into the air, and landed lightly on top of the machine, wrapping her lasso around it. In a flash, she was on the ground, the metallic foot of the robot pressed into her stomach. She flailed helplessly against it, and the people left on the street stared at her, agog.

"Help!" She tried to squirm free, but was unsuccessfully. Clark jumped from the building, flying through the air. He landed on the ground and put on his most commanding voice.

"Stop! Let her go!"

Oliver continued to pin Diana to the street, and Clark turned on the good old heat vision, frying the circuit board in an instant. The robot died, and Clark ran forward before it could crush Wonder Woman. He pulled her to her feet, then scooped her up.

"Thank you, darling." She pressed her hand to his cheek and it took all of his strength not to flinch.

"You're welcome, sweetie." He smiled down at her.

"Are we still on for later?" She ran a perfectly manicured hand down his pec and he nodded.

"Of course. Now, let's get you home." He began to take off, but she stopped him.

"Have I told you how much I adore you?" She cupped his face in her hands and he laughed nervously.

"No, not in awhile darling."

"Well I do." She stretched forward, and pressed a kiss to his lips, and without thinking, he pulled away, and took off into the sky.

* * *

Lois sat on the paper of the examination table, fidgeting nervously. Emil had to finish something up in the lab, but he said he'd be right in. She'd left Hal playing on the Xbox in the other room. All she wanted to do was get her prescription and go home and take a nice long nap.

The door opened, and Emil stood in the doorway, looking grave.

"Lois. Thanks for coming in today." He entered the room and closed the door behind him with a click. He sat on the little stool on wheels that every doctor seemed to have in each examination room.

"No problem. You think you could just give me the prescription so I can go? I want to catch a nap before Clark comes over."

"Lois, you're not sick." Emil looked up from her file and she leaned back, looking like she'd been smacked in the face.

"What? Then what's wrong with me? Oh, God. Don't tell me it's cancer." She leaned forward, putting her head between her knees and taking deep breaths.

"No, it's not terminal." He was grinning at her reaction, and she sat up straight.

"Then what is it? Spit it out, doc." She glared at him reproachfully, and he laughed.

"You're pregnant."

* * *

"What the fuck was that?" Clark said, angrily dumping Diana on the balcony of Watchtower.

"What? You wanted it to look realistic, didn't you?" She said angrily and he snorted.

"You knew the rules, no kissing, and you still chose to broke them." He declared accusingly, and she sighed.

"Clark, I'm not going to lie to you, because I think we're better friends than that." She moved closer to him, and his brow furrowed.

"Ok, so tell me."

"Look…" Clark was sure that this was the first time he'd ever seen Diana Prince nervous. She was chewing on her bottom lip, and suddenly, he almost didn't want to hear what she had to say, but something made him stand there and wait for her to continue.

"I've liked you, a lot, for a long time. And I think we deserve each other." She was getting heated. "You shouldn't be with Lois Lane." She spit out Lois's name with venom. "She doesn't deserve you. We could be an amazing team. We have practically the same powers."

Her hands came up, wrapping around his neck and he was too stunned to move. "Clark. I love you." Abruptly, her lips were moving against his, her tongue sliding into his mouth.

* * *

"What?" Lois stared at Emil, who smiled.

"You're pregnant. Congratulations." He moved forward to shake her hand, and she let it happen.

"Lois, are you ok?" He asked, and she nodded vaguely.

"A baby?" She asked, dazed and now it was his turn to nod.

"Yep. I guess a congratulations are in order for Clark as well."

Lois was pulled from her reverie at Clark's name. "No, don't say anything to Clark. I want to tell him."

Emil nodded. "Alright, well, I wrote you a prescription for prenatal vitamins, and you should come back in a few weeks for your first ultrasound. Since your baby is half-Kryptonian, I don't think it's a very good idea to go to your regular gynecologist."

Lois nodded and grabbed the prescription."Thanks, Emil." She slid off the table, straightening her skirt suit. She walked out into the main room where Hal was sitting, completely engaged in Call of Duty. He looked up at her, and flipped off the game. She sat next to him and brought her knees up, hugging them to her.

"Hey. Everything ok?" He asked, searching her face.

"I'm pregnant." It just blurted out of her. She hadn't even tried to not say it.

"Wow. Congrats." He grinned and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "Are you ok with it?" Hal knew how she felt about children, and Lois herself was surprised by her answer.

"Yeah." A slow smile spread across her face. She could almost picture her and Clark's baby. He would have Clark's peridot eyes and dark hair, with chubby pink cheeks.

"I'm happy for you guys." He took his arm back. "Want to go back to your place, or do you want to wait for Clark, Diana and Oliver to get back?"

"I think I'll wait for Clark." She crossed her legs, and Hal flipped his game back on. "Do you think I should tell him tonight?"

He glanced at her, and then shrugged. "I don't know, if it were me, I'd probably cook him a nice dinner and tell him."

Lois nodded. "Right."

There was a loud thump on the balcony, and Hal and Lois looked up. Clark was carrying Diana, and he dropped her. It looked like they were in the middle of a deep conversation. Diana was gnawing on her bottom lip sexily. Lois felt her stomach drop. She couldn't tear her eyes away from the scene. All of a sudden, they were standing close together, her arms were wrapped around his neck, her fingers playing in the short black strands at the nape. She moved and pressed her lips against his, and it was when the kiss deepened, that Lois stood and ran.


	27. Chapter 27

Sorry to suddenly flood you all with chapters, but I wanted to get these posted before I have to go back to school tomorrow. Chapter 29 is finished, but you're only getting 27 and 28 until I'm done with 30 as per my rule. Hope you all enjoy!

* * *

It was hard running in heels. She was regretting wearing her four inch Jimmy Choos when she was about half way home. Her breath was coming in short gasps, and it wasn't until she was slowing that she noticed tears were running down her cheeks.

There was a green streak beside her, and all of a sudden, Hal was standing in front of her.

"Lois. Stop." She pushed him angrily, and he let her hit him. She made fists, furiously banged them against his chest as she wept. He grabbed her wrists, and she was openly sobbing, unable to catch her breath. He caught her as she began to sink to her knees. He hooked his arm under her knees and she buried her face in his neck.

"Why?" She looked into his eyes and he shook his head.

"Not now. Let me get you home." He cradled her gently and she shook her head through her tears.

"No, take me to Chloe's."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah."

The trip to Chloe's passed in a green haze. She paid little attention to her surroundings, all she could do was weep. He stopped outside of the Queen penthouse, and let her go. She stood in front of him, swaying slightly.

"Why?" She asked again, and he shook his head.

"Lois, we probably didn't see what we thought we saw…"

"You mean Diana with her tongue in my fiancee's mouth? And him just standing there?" She put her head in her hands and gripped madly at her hair.

"I guess it did look pretty bad," he admitted. He tugged his ring off, and dropped it into one of his pockets. "Will you be ok?" He grasped her elbow and she nodded tearfully.

"Thanks." She walked through the door. The doorman recognized her and immediately buzzed her up. It was hard to believe it was a mere half an hour after Emil had given her her test results. She knocked on the door, and Chloe answered the door, cradling a sleepy eyed Bobby.

"Lois?" The smile was wiped off of her face at the sight of Lois. Her hair was disheveled and there were tear tracks on her face.

"Clark is cheating on me."

* * *

Clark pulled himself away from Diana, pushing her as far away from him as possible.

"What the fuck do you think you're doing?"

"I thought…"

"You thought wrong." In a flash, he was back in his suit and glasses. "You are Wonder Woman and your alter ego is Diana Prince, owner of the biggest boutique in Metropolis. I am Clark Kent and my alter ego is Superman. Can you even begin to fathom the difference?"

She looked at him confused. "There's a difference?"

"Yes, and the fact that you don't know that, just proves my point." He walked into Watchtower. "Where is everyone?"

"I don't know. Still cleaning up from our 'save'?"

"I guess." He glanced around the room, and then sighed. "I'm going back to work. Stay away from me for a couple of days." In a blur, he was gone.

* * *

"What?" Chloe ushered her cousin into apartment. She put Bobby in his swing, and the poor boy was out like a light in seconds. Lois sat down on the couch, burying her face in her hands.

"I saw it. She kissed him. French kissed him. And he didn't pull away." The tears had subsided a little now, and she was in a stupor.

"Oh my God." Chloe wrapped an arm around Lois, and the older woman laid her head on her cousin's shoulder. "Are you sure…?"

"Of course I'm sure!" Lois screeched, and she was up and pacing. Bobby was jolted from his sleep, and his face was scrunched up like he was about to cry. The first thing Lois thought, was that he looked how she felt. "They were making out on Watchtower's balcony. Oh, God." She stopped and began crying again. "How am I going to do this? I can't do it on my own. I can't."

"Lois, what are you talking about?" Chloe was genuinely confused, and she rose from the couch and guided Lois back to it. She flipped Bobby's swing on medium, and once again, he was sound asleep.

She cleared her throat. "Before I saw all this, I had an appointment with Emil. I've had this…stomach flu, the past week, and Hal convinced me to go to Emil, who drew blood yesterday." She stopped, rubbing a hand across her face. "It wasn't the stomach flu. It was morning sickness. I'm pregnant."

Chloe stared at her in amazement. "What?"

"I'm pregnant."

With a squeal, the blonde was hugging her around her neck. "Oh my God! We're going to have babies together!" It took a few minutes for Chloe to realize the situation. "Oh shit. I'm sorry, Lo."

"It's ok." She sighed. "Can I stay with you a few days?"

"Of course." She rubbed her back comfortingly. "Do you want to lay down?"

Lois nodded, and her cousin led her into a guest room. "Do you think someone could go get some stuff of mine from the apartment? I don't want to go back there."

"Sure. I'll send Oliver tomorrow if he's not busy. Until then, you can borrow some of my stuff." Chloe disappeared into her and Oliver's bedroom, emerging with a strappy silk nightgown.

"Sorry, it's the only nightwear I have," she said sheepishly and Lois smiled gratefully.

The blonde pressed her lips to her cousin's forehead. "Have a good nap."

"Thanks." As Chloe disappeared, shutting the door, Lois shucked her clothes, tugging the nightgown on. It was a little tight around the bust, but that was the least of her worries. She slid between the clean cool sheets, pulling the quilt up to her chin. There was a remote lying on the bedside table, and Lois picked it up, pressing one of the buttons.

There was a mechanical whirring, and panels descended over the windows, causing the room to completely descend into darkness.

Minutes or maybe hours later, Lois was being shook awake.

"Lois? It's dinner time. Do you want to eat?" Chloe asked her, and Lois shook her head sleepily.

"No."

"Lois, you should eat." Chloe sighed.

"No."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes."

The door closed, and the light disappeared. She could feel tears building up, and she drew her knees up to her chest. All she wanted to do was sleep. She felt like she could lay in Chloe's guest bed forever. She closed her eyes again and drifted back to sleep.

"You think she's ok in there?" Oliver's whispers seeped in from the hallway under the crack between the door and the floor.

"I don't know. I tried waking her up last night, but she wouldn't wake up for dinner." Chloe whispered back. The floorboard creaked, and Lois turned towards the door.

"How long has she been out?"

"Since 12:30 yesterday."

Lois pulled the quilt over her head, willing Chloe and Oliver to go away and let her continue to just lay in the darkness.

The door squeaked open, and Chloe tiptoed in. "Lois, come on. You have to wake up. You've been asleep for almost twenty-four hours."

"Please, Chloe, just leave me alone." She rolled away from her cousin, who sighed.

"You need to eat, it's not good for the baby."

"I don't care." She said into her pillow.

"You don't mean that."

She sighed and sat up. "Did Oliver go get my stuff?"

There was a pause, but Chloe finally answered. "Well, Hal did."

"What's wrong?" She swung her legs over the edge of the bed.

"Clark was there."

"What?" Lois reached for the button that opened the window and bright sunlight came flooding in. She squinted against the sudden brightness. "What happened? Did Hal tell Clark about the baby?"

"No. He didn't tell him anything like that," she said. "But, he did have strong words for him. He knows that you saw Diana kiss him."

"You mean saw them kissing each other." Lois protested, and Chloe sighed.

"Lois, he says that she kissed him and that was as far as it got."

"Of course he would say that. He's not going to admit that he's cheating on me." Lois said heatedly.

"Do you really think Clark is capable of that?"

"I don't know." She said wearily. "Why isn't Clark here defending himself?"

"Oliver won't let him. He told Hal to tell Clark that he'd shoot him with green K if he came anywhere near the penthouse." Chloe said, shrugging.

Lois laughed. "Leave it to Ollie."

"He's worried about you, Lo. You're his cousin too." Chloe said honestly.

"Knock knock." Oliver said, pushing the door open further. "Our ears were burning." He was cradling Bobby in his arms. Lois grinned at her godson and held her arms out.

Oliver placed his son in Lois's arms, and Bobby gurgled up at his godmother. "How's my favorite boy?" He laughed and tugged at a lock of Lois's hair.

"So I hear you threatened Clark through Hal?" Lois asked and Oliver's expression hardened.

"I can't believe he'd do something like that to you."

"Maybe Chloe's right. Maybe he didn't." Lois shrugged. "I'm too tired to do this right now. Can we talk later?"

"Sure, cos." Chloe half smiled. She scooped her baby from her cousins arms and her and her husband walked out. With a click, the panels came down over the windows again and she was back under the covers, sound asleep.

* * *

Clark opened the door to his and Lois's apartment. Even after a few short months, this place felt more like home than the farmhouse. "Lois?" He called out into the seemingly empty dwelling. There was a rustling coming from the bedroom, and he was across the living room in a few short strides, pushing the door open.

Hal was standing in his and Lois's bedroom, a drawer open and a fistful of Lois's clothes held in his hand. He saw red. He rushed at Hal with a roar, but the other man had quickly slipped on his ring and eluded him.

"Whoa, whoa. Stop." He held both hands out, and Clark skidded to a halt.

"Just what the fuck do you think you're doing?" He ripped his fiancée's clothes out of the other man's hands and the Green Lantern sighed.

"Lois sent me."

"What?" Clark was baffled. "Why?"

Hal sighed. "She's staying at Chloe and Oliver's for a few days."

The taller man sunk onto his bed. He looked lost. "Today was supposed to be our day together. What's going on?"

He sat down next to Superman and sighed. "Look, Lois and I were in Watchtower yesterday when you brought Diana back there." He looked incredibly uncomfortable, but also a little rankled.

Clark groaned, resting his head in his hands. "So she saw everything."

Hal got to his feet and stood in front of him, visibly angry now. "Yeah, and I did too. How could you do that to Lois, man? She deserves way better than a cheating asshole."

"Hey!" Clark jumped to his feet, standing toe to toe with the other superhero. "I did _not_ cheat on Lois. After I saved Diana I brought her back to Watchtower and she started talking about how much she loved me and how we were better together than Lois and I ever were, and then she kissed me. I pushed her away and told her that I was with Lois and that I wasn't going to leave her, and that I thought it best that we didn't patrol together anymore. That was it."

"Shit." Now it was Hal's turn to sink onto the bed.

"Yeah. Shit." Clark sat next to him again. "I have to go see her."

"Uh, I don't think that's the best idea right now." Hal said uneasily.

"Why?"

"Well, Oliver told me to tell you that he'd shoot you with a kryptonite arrow if you came anywhere near the Queen penthouse." He said uncomfortably.

Clark scoffed. "He wouldn't."

"I don't know, man, he seemed pretty serious. Ever since he and Chloe got married, he's viewed Lois as his cousin too, and he's almost as protective of his family as you are." He gave a little laugh and Clark looked at him nervously.

"How am I supposed to talk to her about this, then?"

"She'll come to you." Hal clapped Clark on the shoulder and the Kryptonian sighed. "If not, you can always corner her at work."

* * *

Lois stayed in bed for three whole days, only getting up to use the bathroom and gulp down handfuls of water from the bathroom sink. At one point she had slid out of the nightgown Chloe had loaned her and tugged on a pair of her own gym shorts and a tee shirt.

On the morning of the fourth day, the door to the bedroom burst open and Perry White strode into the room, lurking at the end of the bed.

"Perry!" She exclaimed, clutching the blankets to her chest. She had never seen his face so red, and that was saying something.

"Lane, your cousin explained everything. I'm here to get you back to work."

"What do you mean? What did she tell you?" Lois asked nervously.

"She told me that you caught Kent cheating on you, which I didn't think he had it in him, but that's beside the point. She also told me that you haven't gotten out of bed in three days." He sat down on the edge of the bed.

"Perry…" She started.

"Now, no excuses, Lane. I've already moved his stuff into a smaller office so you don't have to even look at him." He tugged the covers away from her and she sighed.

"Perry, there's more to it than that…"

"Like what?" He demanded and she hesitated, debating on whether or not to tell him.

"I'm pregnant."

He stopped pulling on the blankets and stared at her, shocked.

"Is it Clark's?" He asked, dazed.

"Of course it is!" She practically flew out of the bed, standing in front of him and staring him down.

He stood, looking her right in the eye. "Then you have a few options. You can get rid of it…"

"Absolutely not!" She placed a hand protectively over her abdomen, and Perry looked relieved.

"Then there's adoption, raising the kid on your own…" He sat back down and sighed. "Or you could cut the poor guy a break." He looked at her sympathetically and she plopped down next to him.

"It's up to you, Lo. I'm on _your_ side. _You're _my star reporter, not him. Whatever you chose, I'll be there." He patted her on the knee and she nodded.

"Thanks, Perry."

He stood and walked out, but at the door, he turned to her. "I expect you back at work tomorrow."

She smiled at him. "Will do, Chief."

After he left, she laid back down in bed. She knew that she had to get up and function soon, but when she really thought about it, the idea of living without Clark made her not want to live at all. Only the thought of the baby that needed her body to survive, kept her from crawling into bed and never moving again. She didn't know how she was going to raise a half-Kryptonian baby on her own. Maybe she and Clark could have one of those relationships where they were able to raise their child together, but live separately and see other people. However, the thought of another woman touching him filled her with rage.

Suddenly, it became clear to her exactly what she had to do. She had the upper hand here. Diana wasn't carrying Clark's child, unless their relationship had progressed further than she realized. She would fight for him. She wasn't just some passive woman who allowed her fiancée to be stolen right out from under her nose. She was Mad-Dog Lane, a pit bull on a pant leg, God damn it, and she always got what she wanted.

She reached for her cell phone, flipped it open and dialed Perry's number.

"Perry, it's me. Move Clark's stuff back into the office. I've made my choice."

She didn't allow him to argue her out of it, not that he would. She snapped her phone shut and set it on the bedside table. Sliding out of bed, she grabbed a towel that Chloe had set on the back of the antique armchair and padded gently into the connecting bathroom.

* * *

Chloe almost dropped her infant in shock at the sight of her cousin up and functioning. She was in a pair of clean pajamas and her hair was still damp from a shower.

"Hey, Lo." She said cautiously. Her cousin sat down across from her and grabbed a roll. As she buttered it, she smiled at Chloe.

"Hey."

"How are you feeling?" She asked, putting her son into his swing.

"Good." She smiled and took a bite of the bread.

"Really?" She asked gently and Lois sighed.

"Chloe, if you want to ask me something, just do it. Stop beating around the bush." She said, dropping her roll on the empty plate.

"No, nothing. I'm just surprised that you're up and functioning." She ran a hand across her son's bald head and Lois grinned at her godson, who cooed.

"I've made up my mind." She picked at the roll and Chloe waited for her to continue.

"I can't let him go, Chloe. He may be a cheating bastard, but I still love him, and he's done so many things right."

Chloe nodded and Lois continued. "I'm choosing to stay with him for all the right things he's done, not leave him for the one wrong thing. Does that make sense?"

"It makes perfect sense. That's very mature, Lois." Chloe smiled and Lois smiled back.

"I guess. I just can't imagine life without him." Lois said, shrugging. The food was brought to the table, and Lois finally realized how hungry she was.

The chef had gone all out, and fixed a giant filet mignon that was smothered in a buttery looking sauce. Asparagus and mashed potatoes were arranged artfully on the side.

"Where's Ollie?"

"He flew to England this morning for a business meeting." Chloe said, digging into her food.

"Oh. Ok." She smiled and dug into her own plate.

* * *

The next morning, Lois dressed in her usual work uniform. Chloe assured her that her stuff would be back at the apartment when she got home. Walking into the Daily Planet was weird. It felt like she hadn't been into work instead of a mere days. She gathered her confidence and bustled into the building.

As she approached her and Clark's office, she noticed that Clark was sitting forlornly at his desk, his head resting in his hands. Cat Grant was hovering over him, a simpering smile on her face. She wanted to smack both of them, but she knew it would be pointless. If she smacked Clark, all she'd get was a broken hand, and if she smacked Cat, all she'd get was written up. It wasn't worth it.

When she entered the office, Clark looked up at her guiltily, and Cat's grin slid off of her face.

Lois stood in the doorway, took a deep breath, and then stepped aside. "Cat, get out."

The blonde snorted, and Lois could feel herself loosing her cool.

"You can't tell me to leave, this is Clark's office and he wants me here, don't you, Clarkie?"

Now it was Lois's turn to snort. "Clarkie?"

Cat's face turned beet red and Clark's face hardened.

"Get out, Cat."

The blonde looked like a bucket of ice water had been dumped over her head.

"Clark?"

"Cat, seriously, get out." He glared at her and she stomped out of the room, slamming the door behind her so hard, that Lois thought the glass in the door would fall out.

"Lois, thank God." He rushed to her, and she held both hands out to stop him.

"Look, Clark. I'm not going to lie, I'm still really upset. But, you deserve a chance to explain." She moved to sit down on the loveseat and he sat down next to her.

"After I 'saved' Diana, and flew her back here, she tried to convince me that her and I would be a better couple than you and I. That's when she kissed me." He looked so sad and ashamed, that Lois wanted to throw her arms around him.

"You have to believe me, Lois. I never, ever, wanted that to happen. You're the only girl for me." He wrapped his arm around her, and she sagged in relief.

"Ok." She said, laying her head against his shoulder.

"You believe me?" He asked, shocked and she nodded with a smile.

"Should I not?" She grinned up at him and he shook his head vigorously.

"Of course you should. I just thought I would have to convince you." He smiled again and she laughed.

"No. When I thought that I had lost you, I couldn't get up out of bed for three days. I don't ever want to feel that again. Promise me that it won't ever happen again."

"It won't ever happen again." He smiled at her, and kissed her on the forehead.

"Ok, good. Great. But, first, we have to lay a few ground rules." She untangled herself from his grasp and sat on her desk chair across from him.

"Ok." He said anxiously, and she smiled reassuringly.

"Number one-you and I are officially back together. I want you in my bed every night from now on, no exceptions."

Clark nodded seriously, a slow smile creeping over his face.

"I mean it. Whatever you need to do, do it. Every night at one a.m. you are in bed with me. No patrol, no cases, nothing."

"Lois, that's a little unfair." He protested. "The others deserve to have a night off on occasion too…"

She sighed. "Ok, fine. Once a week you can do a night patrol. There's more than enough people in the Justice League for each of you to do one night a week. That's it. Figure it out."

Clark nodded again and she continued. "Secondly, no patrol with Diana. You did your little show, and now it's over. I saw Cat's article about Superman and Wonder Woman being together, and now that the public is sufficiently convinced, you can continue this charade with her in front of other members of the Justice League. Not that I don't trust you, but I definitely don't trust her."

He laughed and she glared. "I'm serious, Clark."

Clark stopped smiling and bobbed his head in agreement.

"One last thing. If you want to still get married, than we need to rededicate ourselves to it. One day, we're going to have a family, and our children are going to need their father with them. Baseball games, dance recitals, school plays, those are all things that children need their father at. And, I can't be expected to handle a half-Kryptonian child on my own. Your parents may have been able to handle you, but there's just one of me."

His brow furrowed. "Why all this sudden talk about kids?"

Lois shrugged. She knew that now would be a good time to tell him about the baby, but she wanted to wait. Have the perfect meal with candles and the works. "I just think we need to know what we're getting into before we get married."

He leaned forward and grabbed her hands, tugging her toward him. She stood, and he wrapped his arms around her waist. He rested his head on her chest and she brought a hand up to run her fingers through his raven locks.

"I'm glad we're back together." He looked up at her, and she sealed his lips with hers. She had forgotten how warm he ran. His lips were almost like a burning brand on hers, but they still felt warm, comforting.

"Do you want to do dinner tonight?" She asked and he nodded. She slid from his grasp and walked over to his desk, flipping through the phone book.

"I'll make dinner reservations at _Butter_ for seven. Does that work?"

Clark nodded. "Sounds good to me."

"Great." She smiled seductively at him. "Then back to our place for a nightcap?"

"Of course." He smiled back at her.

"Ok. I'll see you at seven." She pulled her bag onto her shoulder. "I have to meet with a source, but I'll be back."

He nodded. "See you at seven."


	28. Chapter 28

I'm not going to lie-I cried during this chapter, so prepare yourself. This is another chapter that wrote itself. I definitely wasn't planning on this happening.

* * *

When the clock on Lois's computer hit five o'clock, she practically ran to the exit. She was excited to tell Clark about the baby. She had a whole scenario built in her head. She'd go home, change into the same dress she wore the night he proposed. They'd have fancy food, Clark would have wine, and they'd head home for "dessert". Then she'd tell him the good news. Or maybe he'd ask her why she wasn't having any wine with dinner, and she'd look at him demurely over the candlelight and tell him that she wouldn't be able to have wine for the next nine months.

She walked home, completely preoccupied with the night ahead. It was going to be the most wonderful night of her life. She walked into the master bath, turning the water on almost scalding. As the water cascaded over her head and shoulders, she pressed a hand to her stomach.

"Well, baby, everything's falling into place." It was awkward, at first, this whole talking to her stomach thing, but it felt kind of nice. Like there was a best friend always with her.

It took her about an hour and a half to get ready. She wanted to look her absolute best. Her auburn hair fell in perfect ringlets on either side of her face, and the dress still fit her perfectly. She realized that she might never get a chance to wear this dress again, once her body changed from the baby. She twirled in front of the full-length mirror Clark had installed on the bathroom door, admiring herself.

She grabbed her bag and jacket. Carlo hailed her a cab, and she gave the driver the address to the restaurant. When she arrived, she was escorted right to the table.

Lois slid across the booth, the cold leather biting into the back of her legs. She opened up the menu, studying it. She debated on whether or not to order for Clark. She knew exactly what he would order, so why not?

"Miss Lane?" The waiter came over and Lois nodded.

"Yes, I'll have a sparkling water and my fiancée will have a glass of Cab Sav."

The waiter nodded. "Very good. Are you expecting him soon?"

Lois glanced at her cell phone. She was several minutes early and Clark was normally a few minutes late. "Very soon." She smiled and he returned the grin.

"Very good, I'll bring the drinks right out." He disappeared and Lois looked at the menu again.

When the drinks appeared a few minutes later, she smiled at the waiter.

"Would you like to order for you and your fiancée, or would you like to wait?"

She glanced at her phone again. He was only five minutes late. He'd be here any minute and he wouldn't want her to wait.

"Uh, sure. He'll have the New York strip steak and I'll have the filet mignon." She gathered up the menus and handed them to him.

"Very good." He bustled away, and Lois crossed and uncrossed her legs nervously.

She checked her phone again. He was fifteen minutes late. She flipped open her phone and speed dialed his number. It wasn't like him to be this late. It rang about eight times, and the voicemail picked up.

"You've reached the cell phone of Clark Kent. I can't come to the phone right now, but leave your name, number, and a brief message, and I'll get back to you as soon as I'm able." The phone beeped, and she spoke into it.

"Clark, hey, I just wanted to double check that you knew where you were going. Call me back. Love you."

She sipped at her water, and looked around the restaurant. It felt like all of the other patron's eyes were on her. A blonde woman in the corner was gazing at her openly with pity.

When the food arrived, the last thing she wanted to do was eat. Her stomach was turning nervously. What if something had happened to him? She called Clark's cell phone again, and when he didn't pick up, she immediately dialed Hal. He'd become her best friend in a few short days, well, her best friend outside of Chloe and Clark, that is.

The phone rang twice before Hal picked up. "Hal Jordan at your service."

"Hey." She stared at her steak and swallowed uneasily. "Have you seen Clark tonight?"

The waiter was watching her with sympathy from a different table and she smiled and nodded at him.

"Sure. He got called away to a fire in California." Hal said it so blatantly, that it made her want to cry.

"Oh. Ok. Did he say what time he'd be back?"

She could almost hear Hal shrug. "He didn't say. I offered to go instead, 'cuz I know tonight's the big night, but he said that it should only take about half an hour."

There was a pause, and the situation finally hit him. "Oh, shit. He's not back yet, is he?"

"Nope." She could feel the tears building behind her eyes, and her voice cracked on the last syllable.

"Shit. Where are you? I'll come get you."

"No, Hal. Really, it's fine. I'm just going to box up this food and go home." She tapped a perfectly manicured nail against the gleaming silver of her fork, and he sighed.

"Lois, you really shouldn't be alone right now. Where are you?"

"I'm fine Hal. I'll talk to you tomorrow. Good night." She snapped her phone shut and with a flick of her finger, turned it off. She reached across the table, and took a giant gulp of the now warm wine. She waved the waiter over, and the look of compassion pasted on his face.

"Uh, he won't be joining me. Is there anyway I could get all this food boxed up to go?" She waved at the plates and he nodded, whisking the plates back into the kitchen.

It seemed like everyone's eyes were on her. She was sure that the waiter was telling everyone that worked in the kitchen about how Lois Lane, the famous Daily Planet reporter's fiancée, had stood her up. She wished the Earth would open up and swallow her whole.

The waiter brought a bag of food back to her and set it gently on the table.

"Miss Lane, there will be no charge tonight." He said gently and she shook her head.

"Of course not. That's ridiculous. I want to pay." She reached into her wallet, but the waiter held up both hands and took a step backward.

"No. I insist. Have a good night." He smiled and walked away.

Lois sighed, feeling dejected. The restaurant people felt so sorry for her, they'd just given her about 100 dollars worth of free food. She was beyond embarrassed. She dropped two twenty dollar bills on the table for the waiter, grabbed her bag of food and walked out.

* * *

Clark stood outside of his and Lois's apartment building. He knew that Lois was probably mad at him, but he would win her back. He walked into the lobby, and Carlo's eyes followed him.

"Hello Carlo." He nodded at the doorman, who just stared at him. Carlo was normally so friendly to him. It was odd that he hadn't even bothered to say hello to him.

He didn't bother with the elevator, but took the stairs two at a time. He walked into their apartment. A was sitting on the kitchen table with the name of the restaurant that he was supposed to have met Lois, but other than that, there was no evidence that anyone else was in the apartment. A window was flung open, and his heart leapt into his mouth. What if she'd been kidnapped? He rushed to the window and stuck his head out.

Lois was wrapped in the comforter off of their bed, sitting on the fire escape. Her nose and eyes were red from crying, and he felt awful.

"Lois…"

"Don't, Clark. Just don't." She stood, wrapping the comforter tighter around her, and he withdrew into the apartment. She clambered into the apartment, shutting the window behind her. She moved into the bedroom, and he was hot on her heels.

"Lois, please." He held his arms out to her, and she dropped the comforter from around her shoulders. She was wearing the same dress she had worn the night he had proposed. The red dress highlighted the red in her hair, and he felt his cock twitch at the sight of her. He didn't think he'd ever be able to see that dress and not feel aroused.

"You look…beautiful." His hands fell back to his side and she stared at him through dead eyes.

"I looked better about three hours ago."

"I'm so sorry." He took his jacket off, dropping it on the bed, and she continued to glare at him.

"Do you have any idea what I've been through tonight?"

"Uh…was it any worse than having to put out a wildfire and saving two girls with third degree burns?" He felt irritated. It was his duty to save people, it was why Jor-El had sent him to Earth. Everything else was secondary.

She shook her head. "You're right. I'm sorry. That was more important." She slid out of her dress, and walked into the bathroom.

Lois was still angry. He made to follow her into the bathroom, but she slammed the door in his face.

He pushed it open, but she whipped around. "Get out!"

"No, not until we talk about this."

It was incredibly distracting arguing while he was fully clothed and she was in a thong and a lace bra.

"Fine, you want to talk about this, let's talk." She picked up a bottle of hand cream, squirted some into her hand, then slammed the bottle down on the counter. "I waited for over an hour for you at the restaurant. An hour. Everyone in the restaurant was staring at me like I was some sad sack, whose boyfriend didn't care enough about her and stood her up." She rubbed the cream into her hands angrily and he flinched.

"Then, the waiter boxed up the food that I had ordered for both of us, and told me that it was on the house. He felt so bad for me, that he gave me about 100 bucks worth of food for free." She could feel tears building up behind her eyes. She didn't want to cry, she wanted to talk about this and crying would just make things difficult.

Clark sat down on the edge of the bed, and Lois stood in front of him, her hands on her hips.

"Lois, I'm sorry, but I was needed in California…" He started, but she cut him off. Her voice was rising to near hysteria levels.

"No, you weren't, Clark. I called Hal. He told me that he volunteered to go, but you insisted."

He stilled and looked at her guiltily.

She sighed. "We just talked about this today. If we're going to get married, I need you here, with me. I can't be with someone who doesn't want to be with me."

"I want to be with you, Lois."

"Yes. But not as much as you want to save the world." She sat down next to him, staring at her hands. "I love you, Clark." The tears were falling thick now, gathering on her eyelashes, and streaming down her face.

"I love you too." He looked relieved, and Lois knew that he thought that he was off the hook.

She ignored him, and continued to star at her hands. "But I need someone who is fully committed to this thing. If you aren't in it for the long haul, then maybe we really should break up."

"Lois, it was a one time thing!" He grabbed her chin, forced her to look at him. She steeled herself. She knew the minute she gazed into his clear green eyes, she'd be lost.

"No, Clark. It wasn't. I know it's your job to save the world, and I love you for that. But you have to relinquish some control. Hal could have handled that save just as easily, but you had to do it. You had to be the hero." She gulped. What she had to say next was definitely going to hurt him.

"Sometimes, being the real hero means letting someone else do something for you. I loved Jonathon as much as you did, but that was one thing that he could never accept. He always did things for himself, without any help. And you're going down the same road." At the mention of his father's name, he stiffened.

"I don't want to break up, Clark. But, until you realize that we're going to be a family, and that family comes first, I don't think we should plan on marriage."

"Lois, my dad loved his family, and he loved the farm, but I know that if he would have gotten the chance to do something else, if he wouldn't have been bound to the farm, he would have jumped at the chance. That's what I'm doing. I'm lucky enough that I can work for the DP and still save the world. What's wrong with wanting both?" He shook his head, and Lois pulled away from him, fresh tears in her eyes.

"What's wrong, is that I wasn't anywhere in that list." She stood, and walked back into the bathroom. "Maybe you should stay at the farm tonight."

"Lois…I didn't mean it like that." He stood and followed her.

"Yes, you did Clark. I don't want to just be an option. I want to be a priority."

The bathroom door slammed shut in his face, and with a click, she locked the door.


	29. Chapter 29

Ok, I've been watching a lot of Bones lately, and since a portion of this takes place in Washington D.C., I'll probably be using some locations from that T.V. show. Sorry if that distracts anyone, but sometimes it's easier to use places that are already in existence.

* * *

Lois wasn't sure how long she had lay in bed. Time seemed to pass in droves. Perhaps she was Rip Van Winkle, falling asleep for a hundred years, and waking to find the world much changed. The only hint that it was still the same year, was Chloe banging loudly at her door. She hadn't bothered to get up, and her cousin had eventually given up. When Chloe had returned what seemed like a few hours later, Lois had even held her breath, hoping that she would just leave.

Clark had apparently told Oliver that Lois had dumped him. The first thing she had done the morning after her and Clark's big fight, was to call Perry and tell him she was taking a leave of absence. Maybe she'd go somewhere warm, like Hawaii.

Eventually she had to get up. She walked into the bathroom and sat by the toilet. She gagged, but there was nothing in her stomach to throw up.

There was a loud bang as the door to the apartment blew open, and she jumped. Hal Jordan stood in the doorway of the bathroom, Bart Allen and Oliver Queen stood behind him in full costume.

"Lois, you have to get out of this apartment." Hal reached down and grasped her elbow, forcing her to stand.

She groaned, and allowed herself to be pulled up. Bart had flashed into the kitchen. There were banging noises coming from it, and Hal led her to the living room.

Oliver was chewing his lip worriedly, staring at her.

"I'm fine, Oliver. Really." She pushed her hair out of her face and he shook his head.

"No, you're not, Lo. You look awful. You're skin and bones." He pulled her to a mirror. "Look at yourself."

Lois looked at herself in the mirror. She was in a pair of gym shorts and a tee shirt, and they were hanging off of her. Her eyes protruded from their sockets, and her cheekbones were sticking out of her hollow cheeks.

"You're right. I look disgusting. No wonder Clark doesn't want anything to do with me." She felt like an old woman. She shuffled back to the couch, and Hal clucked sympathetically.

He sat down next to her on the couch, wrapping an arm around her. "Lois, whatever you want me to do, I'll do it."

She smiled wearily at him. "I don't want you to do anything, Hal. I just want to be left alone."

"Absolutely not." Oliver stood over her, and she looked up at him, suddenly frightened. "The last thing you need is to be alone."

Lois began to cry, putting her head in her hands. "Please, I just want to sleep."

"Lois, you're depressed. You need to go see Emil."

She sighed, giving in. "Ok. I'll see Emil if he comes here."

Bart emerged from the kitchen, a giant plate of spaghetti in his hand, smothered in tomato sauce.

"Eat." He thrust it at her, but she shook her head.

"No, I'm not hungry."

"Lois, please." He pushed Oliver out of the way, and sat down across from her, holding the plate in his hands.

"I know that you aren't hungry, but think about the baby. Little Lane is going to starve to death if you don't eat. I know you don't care about yourself, but I know that you care about that baby."

She sighed, and took the plate from him. In a flash, he was up and back, handing her a fork. She twirled the noodles around her fork, scooping some into her mouth.

"This is actually pretty good." She was surprised.

"Well, when you use up five times the amount of energy as a normal person, you have to learn how to cook for yourself." He said sheepishly.

They all sat in silence as Lois ate. When the plate was finished, she handed it back to Bart, who promptly dumped it into the sink.

"Lois, I know you probably don't want to hear this, but maybe you should go stay with Martha for a few weeks." Oliver said hesitantly.

She sat in silence as she considered this. Finally, she nodded. "I think that's a good idea."

"Really?" Oliver asked, shocked.

"Yes. She needs to know about her grandchild. And where could I get better, home cooked meals at Martha Kent's house in D.C.?"

"Ok. Ok. Ok." Oliver stepped back, anxious to get her going now that she had agreed. "Uh, Bart, why don't you pack Lois's stuff for her, while I arrange for my jet to fly her to D.C.?"

"Oliver, seriously, I can just take a commercial flight." She protested.

"Absolutely not. We can have you in the air in under an hour, Lo." He pulled out his cell, and was instantly making plans with the pilot.

"Why don't you go shower?" Hal said gently, and she nodded. Before she walked into the bathroom, she looked at the three men in her life who loved her as much as her own father, probably more so, actually. They really were a wonderful set of brothers. Bart already had her suitcase packed, she hadn't even seen him move. Hal was smiling gently at her, and Oliver was busy making plans for her flight.

"You guys are the best." She felt tears forming and Bart looked at the two older men apprehensively.

"What's wrong with her?"

"Hormones." Hal whispered, and Lois laughed before going into the bathroom to shower.

* * *

When she emerged from the bathroom, she didn't bother to dress up. No one was going to see her on Ollie's jet, and it wasn't like he had a strict dress code. She tugged on a pair of gray sweat pants, a tank top and a sweatshirt. She felt ten times better than before, but she still felt ancient.

Lois walked out of the bedroom, and Hal and Oliver's eyes lifted up to her. Oliver and Hal were sitting on the couch. Hal had a copy of _Cosmopolitan _open on his lap and Oliver was typing away on his phone. Bart was lounging in an armchair, his eyes closed.

Oliver shook Bart awake, and all three men stood. "Are you ready, Senorita?" Bart asked, smiling, and Lois nodded.

From then on, everything seemed to pass in a flash. A car was waiting at the curb of Lois's apartment, and all four of them piled in. In what seemed like seconds, they were on the tarmac, and the boys were looking at her. She smiled at them and they grinned back uneasily.

"Well, I guess I better get going." She opened the door to the car, and they all climbed out.

"You'll apologize to Chloe for me and give my love to Bobby?" She asked Oliver, giving him a hug.

"Sure, Lo." He hugged her back, and she turned to Bart.

"Thanks for everything, Bart." She wrapped her arms around his neck and he laughed.

"No problem, Senorita. You get better and we'll talk some sense into Supes."

"Thanks."

Finally, Hal stepped forward. His easy smile immediately comforted her. She wrapped her arms around his neck, and his hands came to her waist. She buried her face in his neck, and he squeezed her tight.

"I love you, Hal. You're the best brother in the world." She pulled away to look at him, and he grinned.

"And you're the best sister in the world."

"Tell Carol I said hi." She said, pulling away and he nodded.

"Be safe in D.C., Lo." He clasped her hand, his grip like a vice. "Don't make me have to save your sorry ass."

She grinned and stepped on the stairs that were pushed against the opening of the plane, and Oliver called out to her. "Lois!"

She turned and he came running toward her, his coat and hair buffeted by the jet engines that had started.

"I called Martha, she'll be picking you up at the airport!" He shouted over the noise, and Lois nodded. "Now get going!" He waved her away, and she jogged up the rest of the stairs, disappearing into the plane.

* * *

Lois arrived in Washington D.C. just a few hours after leaving Metropolis. A black Town Car waited right by the runway. The pilot himself stowed her luggage in the trunk of the car, as Martha Kent stood by the passenger side door.

She loved Martha Kent like her own mother, so when she saw the redheaded woman standing by the car, she ran to her. Throwing her arms around the older woman, she began to weep.

Martha swept her into the car, and they were soon speeding away to her apartment. Mrs. Kent wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

"Lois, why are you here?" She asked gently, and Lois sighed.

"Martha, I think Clark and I are through." She said sadly, and the older woman's brow furrowed.

"Why, what happened?"

Mrs. Kent remained silent as the entire story spilled out. From her witnessing Clark cheating on her, to them getting back together, then him failing to show up for dinner. The only thing she left out was the baby.

When she had finished her story, Martha nodded. "The only thing I can't understand is why you were so upset that Clark didn't show up to dinner. He's always late and often doesn't show up to things. What made that night so important?"

Lois cleared her throat. "We had had a discussion earlier that day about commitment and keeping promises. I told him that if we were going to be a family, then he needed to realize that family comes first."

Martha nodded again. "But why the sudden interest in commitment?"

Lois sighed. Martha was too astute for subtlety. She was going to have to come right out and say it. "Martha…I'm pregnant."

The last part of the sentence hung between them, and Martha looked at her in surprise.

The next thing she knew, Mrs. Kent's arms were wrapped around her and she laughing.

"Martha. Martha. Are you ok?"

Martha pulled away, happy tears still streaming down her face. She sniffled slightly. "I'm just so happy."

Lois laughed, and Martha's brow furrowed in concern. "You haven't told Clark yet, have you?"

She shook her head. "I was going to tell him at dinner that night."

"And that's why you were so upset."

She nodded.

"I see." Martha grabbed her hand. "Well, we'll figure everything out. You can stay with me as long as you need to, but I really think you should tell Clark. He has a right to know."

"I know, but lately, it's just seemed that he would rather work on saving people and his articles than spend time with me." She sighed. "Why would he propose to me if he didn't want to marry me?"

Now it was Martha's turn to sigh. "Lois, honey, Clark has always wanted to do everything. He's afraid he's not going to achieve everything he wants. But if he knew that you were expecting a baby, he'd completely change."

"Maybe that's what I'm worried about."

"What?" She asked, taken aback.

"I want him to want this baby as much as I do, not feel tied down and obligated." She sighed.

"He will, Lois, as soon as he knows, he's going to want the baby as much as you do." Martha said sagely, and Lois sighed.

"I guess I know that."

"He loves you. I love you. That's all that matters."

Lois took a deep breath and looked out the window. She knew what she was going to say next was probably going to hurt Martha Kent, but it had to be said. "When my mom passed away, and Lucy couldn't remember her, I made her a promise that I would be her mother. That meant that, when Dad couldn't make it to her dance recitals, or her school plays, I would go. I made sure that I was in the front row every time with flowers. Now, I have no doubt that my father loves Lucy, but the fact that he wasn't here caused her more pain than anything. Sometimes, when you really love someone, means giving up what you want or what you believe you should be doing, for the person you love. I don't think Clark has realized that yet."

Martha was gazing at her through clear eyes. "You've grown up since the last time we've seen each other."

"Martha, I promised myself that my kids would never have to worry if their parents will be there for them."

Mrs. Kent nodded. "But you knew that Clark would have trouble with that."

"I don't know, I guess I just didn't think that we'd be having kids so soon." Lois chewed on her lip and Martha bobbed her head in agreement.

The car pulled up to Martha's apartment building, and the driver pulled her luggage out of the trunk. Mrs. Kent took her luggage, and the two women went up to her apartment.

* * *

Clark was dazed. He had spent the last few days at the farm, but had suddenly gotten a text from Oliver to come by Watchtower. When he arrived, he noticed that all the male members of the Justice League were there. It was curious. He'd never seen a partial meeting where just the men were invited. Perhaps this was Oliver's idea to get him out of the farm and have a boy's night out? If it was, it was the last thing he wanted to do.

"Clark, there you are." Bruce smiled at him, but the rest of the "Super Dudes" as Bart liked to call them, were either staring through him, or glaring at him with undisguised venom, particularly Hal.

Oliver cleared his throat. "We wanted to discuss some things with you."

"What kind of things?" Clark asked nervously.

"Look, man, we all think that you need to take some time off, clear your head." Bart stepped forward, a fleeting look of sympathy passing across his face.

"What? Why?"

"Because you need some time to reevaluate your priorities." Hal said with hostility.

"What does that mean?" Clark glared at him.

"Lois left you for a reason, man. Do you really just want to let her walk away?" Bart asked, and Clark shook his head.

"No, but she's being irrational. My behavior hasn't changed, she knew that when she accepted my proposal that it would mean not being together all the time. I have to save people. It's my duty." He said heatedly.

"Everything has changed." Hal stepped toward him, obviously angry. Hal Jordan was generally an easy-going guy, and Clark had never seen him so angry.

"Are you completely stupid, or do you just not bother to use your powers outside of patrol?" Hal asked, and Clark was offended.

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"Look, I told Lois I wouldn't tell you, but since you're being such a jackass, and she's probably leaving you anyway, I don't see a problem with telling you. Haven't you used your super hearing around Lois at all?" Hal put his hands on his hips angrily at Clark's expression of bewilderment. "She's pregnant, dude."

"What?" Clark stumbled backward as if he'd been struck.

"Yeah, that was why she was so insistent on you showing up to dinner. It's why I volunteered to go to the wildfire in Cali for you. She was going to tell you at dinner."

He sunk onto the couch, and he noticed that Oliver was glaring at Hal, but none of the Justice League seemed surprised.

"Wait a minute, you all knew?" He stood up, angrily.

"It was why she was here the afternoon that you saved Diana. Emil had just told her." Oliver said gently, and Clark felt like crying. Of course she would be upset that he didn't show up to dinner. She'd always told him that her father hadn't been there for her and Lucy, and now she thought that he wouldn't be there for their child.

"Oh man, I fucked up." Clark ran his hands through his hair.

"Yeah, really bad. She's gone to stay with your mom for a few days." Bart said gently.

Clark nodded in a stupor. "I really fucked up. Really, really fucked up."

"Clark, everyone makes mistakes." Oliver sat down next to his friend, resting a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"Yeah, but not me." He sighed. "What do I do?"

"Take a few days off. Then go to her. Tell her how much you love her, and devote yourself to your family. It's what Lois deserves." Oliver said, and Clark nodded. For the first time, it actually felt like Oliver could teach him something.

"What if I'm not ready to be a father?" He whispered to his friend, and Oliver bobbed his head.

"I don't think any of us are ready to be parents, Clark. We like to think that we're so smart, and that we have all the answers. And we want to pass all of it on to our children. But if you scratch beneath the surface, you don't have to dig very deep to find the kid you were. Which is why it's kind of crazy that we're raising kids of our own. I guess that's the real circle of life. Your parents faked their way through it; you fake your way through it. And hopefully you don't raise a serial killer." He said it so seriously, that Clark had to laugh.

"Isn't that a quote from _Modern Family_?" Clark said with a laugh.

"Yep. Chloe can't stop watching it. It's kind of fitting though, isn't it?" Oliver nodded sheepishly, and Clark smiled.

"I guess." He stood, straightening his clothes. "I guess I should head out to D.C."

"Wait a few days. Let her cool off, and then head out there." Oliver said gently.

Clark nodded reluctantly. "I guess you're right."

* * *

The minute the two women walked into the apartment, Martha Kent got to work in the kitchen. She pulled chicken, breadcrumbs, spices, buttermilk, greens, and potatoes out of cabinets and the refrigerator, and within the hour, Lois was eating Mrs. Kent's famous fried chicken, mashed potatoes and sautéed greens.

She devoured the entire plate, tearing greedily into the chicken and shoveling the greens and potatoes into her mouth. She hadn't realized how hungry she was until that plate had been set in front of her.

Martha Kent watched her eat with amusement as she carefully picked at her own food. When her plate was clean, she picked it up and set it gently in the sink, filling it with warm soapy water.

"Lois, honey, you don't have to do the dishes," Martha Kent protested.

"Yes, Mrs. Kent, I do. Because I don't have a snow ball's chance in hell of cooking for you like you cook for me, so I'll do the dishes." She grinned at her future mother in law and friend, who smiled back good-naturedly.

"Alright, if you insist." She took her own dish to the sink and dropped it in.

When the dishes were finished, Lois grabbed her luggage and began unpacking her suitcase. Martha wandered in and lay down on the bed. Lois turned and smiled at her.

"It'll be nice having another girl around. All I've had to deal with is middle aged senators."

Lois smiled and shoved her clothes into the set of drawers.

"I have a meeting tomorrow with the senators from Missouri and Oregon, but I should be free after eleven, though. Want to meet me at The Founding Fathers for lunch?"

"Sure, that sounds great Mrs. K." Lois said, pulling out her toiletries bag and a pair of pajamas.

"Are you going to sleep in, or did you want me to get a car for you?" Mrs. Kent slid out of the bed, straightening her clothes.

"You know, I think I'll go to the Smithsonian tomorrow. I've always wanted to see Dorothy's ruby slippers and Jefferson's lap desk." She said, faux excited.

Martha laughed. "Well, you can go to the Smithsonian, meet me for lunch, and then we could go back there to see Archie Bunker's chair."

"Sure, that sounds great." Lois said. "Well, I'm going to go to bed if that's ok with you, I'm exhausted."

"Sure honey. I'll wake you up when I leave in the morning." Martha began to walk out of the room, but Lois stopped her.

"Oh, Mrs. Kent-thanks for letting me come stay with you, even though I'm not really family." Lois fidgeted uncomfortably, but Martha smiled.

"Lois, even if you weren't pregnant with my grandchild and you and Clark weren't together, you'd still be family." Mrs. Kent nodded. "Good night sweetie."

"Good night, Mrs. K."


	30. Chapter 30

A/N: Ok, hopefully things will be a little happier from now on. Enjoy!

* * *

"Lois, honey, it's eight and I'm leaving." Martha Kent was shaking Lois awake, and she groaned before sitting up.

"Alright, I'm up." She swung her legs over the side of the bed and Martha smiled at her.

"I made breakfast and left a plate warming for you in the oven. I'll see you at eleven at the Founding Fathers." Martha's voice was coming from the doorway, and Lois cracked her eyes open. Mrs. K was dressed in a fashionable pants suit, and she looked every bit the competent senator.

"Sure. Go get 'em Mrs. K." She grinned sleepily, and Martha nodded.

"See you soon, Lo."

* * *

Lois walked into the Smithsonian, her bag slung over her shoulder, a brochure clutched in her hand. Despite the fact that she had joked about coming here, she was actually really excited to see Dorothy's slippers and Abraham Lincoln's top hat.

"Oh man, they even have Julia Child's kitchen!" A middle-aged woman was looking at a brochure, and Lois laughed to herself.

As she wandered around the museum, she couldn't help but think of the last time she was in Washington. A part of her wondered if Lex was here, still trying to push his kryptonite war suit. He hadn't bothered with her since he had confronted her about the article.

She was standing by honest Abe's top hat, when a breeze fluttered her hair. She looked to her right, and Clark Kent was standing next to her. His suit was perfectly rumpled, his glasses pushed down low on his nose.

Lois sighed, moving to the next exhibit, and she felt him following her.

"There's nothing more to say, Clark." She said to the air, and his hand was on her elbow.

"I think there's plenty more to say." They walked past the exhibit and on to the next. Lois sighed.

"What?" She turned to face him, and his face was unreadable.

"Can we go somewhere and talk?"

"I told you, there's nothing more to say." She bent to examine Colonel Custer's uniform, and he sighed.

"Please, Lois?"

"Fine, but I'm meeting your mom in an hour." She walked away, and he followed her. He trailed behind her all the way out to the sidewalk. She walked into a small coffee shop, ordered a decaf coffee, and sat down at a small table. He sat down across from her, his brow furrowed.

"What do you want?" She tapped her fingers against the paper coffee cup anxiously, and he heaved a sigh.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"Tell you what?" She tried to look innocent, but he shook his head.

"Lois, I know. Why didn't you tell me you were pregnant?"

Now it was Lois's turn to sigh. "Who told you?"

"Hal."

"I told him not to tell anyone!" She said indignantly. "I'll have to have a talk with him."

"Well, it could have been anyone, really. It seems like the whole JLA knew before I did." He was obviously upset, and she hung her head.

"Look, I'm sorry I didn't tell you. Really, I am. My only defense is that I was going to tell you the night we were supposed to have dinner." She sipped at her coffee, and Clark reached for her hand.

"I know, I let you down, Lois. I promise it will never happen again."

The feel of his skin on hers made her melt a little, but she remained firm in her resolve. "Clark, you can't promise that. You'll always go for the save. It's part of what I love about you."

Clark grunted in frustration. "What do you want from me, Lois? Whatever it takes to be with you and our baby, I'll do it. I'll stop being Superman. I'll go to the Fortress and ask Jor-El to take away my powers. I'll wear a blue kryptonite ring for the rest of my life. Just-please. Don't make me go." There were tears in his eyes, and he scooted his chair around to sit next to her. "Don't make me go." He placed one arm around her, and the other on her lower abdomen. "I know what it's like to be abandoned. I know what it's like to lose a father. Please, don't make our child grow up feeling abandoned and without me." He was actually crying now, and Lois didn't know what to say, she'd only ever seen him cry once, and that was with crazy Lana's breakup video. This was something completely new. Silent sobs wracked his frame, and he looked like he was about ready to burst at the seams.

She wrapped her arms around his neck, and he wept into the crook of her neck. As the tears slowed, he lifted his eyes to hers, and she cupped his face gently.

"I love you, Clark Kent." She pressed her lips to his, the salt from his tears playing across her tongue.

"Does that mean I'm forgiven?" His eyes were red and puffy, and she slid a finger under his glasses, gathering his tears on her fingertip.

"Yes, you're forgiven." He smiled through his tears at her proclamation. "Just promise me that you'll be there, Clark. That's all I ever wanted."

He pressed her to him, wrapping his arms all the way around her.

"I love you, so much, Lo."

"I love you, too."

"Can you come home, now?" He asked, brushing her bangs out of her face.

She shook her head. "I promised I'd stay with your mom for a few days. But I'm sure your mom wouldn't mind if you stayed with us."

He laughed, pulling a Kleenex out of his pocket and rubbing it across his red nose. "Well, I'm glad that you and my mom would like me to stay with you."

He stood, pulling her from her chair. "You said you were meeting my mom at eleven?"

"Yep." She hooked her arm through his, and they walked out into the bright sunshine.

"So, her apartment's empty?" He grinned wickedly at her, and she nodded.

"Did you apologize just so you could get some?" She asked, and he paled.

"Of course not! Let's go back to the Smithsonian." He tugged her towards the towering edifice, and she shook her head.

"I was joking, Clark. Let's go to your mom's apartment. We have about half an hour." She smiled and he scooped her up, blurring off.

* * *

Lois used the key that Martha had given her on the door, and then shut the door. The familiar scent of his cologne overwhelmed her as he moved closer to her. Her eyes focused on the buttons of his shirt as he undid his tie, draping it over a chair in the tiny kitchenette.

Clark scooped her up, pressing his lips anxiously to hers. His tongue swept along the seam of her lips, and she opened her mouth to allow it into her mouth. Their tongues dueled, but Lois let him win. He carried her into the guest bedroom, kicking the door closed. He sat on the edge of the bed, and Lois straddled his lap. He put his hot hands on her hips, dragging them both back, so that he was laying on the bed, and she was sitting on his waist.

"Lois, can I…" He splayed his hands across her stomach.

"You want to see the baby." He nodded, and she sighed.

"I'd really rather wait, if it's ok with you." She bit her lip nervously. "I kind of want us to see it at the same time. Is that weird?"

"Absolutely not." He grinned, then placed a delicate kiss on her lips.

Clark's hands tugged her shirt up and over her head, revealing her plain white bra. He trailed his arms behind her, unhooking it with a twist of his wrist. It fell forward, and he tossed it aside. He rested his hands on her breasts, and she moaned, rubbing her pelvis against his. His thumbs traced circles around her areolas then tugged on the hardened peaks. Her fingers scrabbled at the buttons on his shirt, and he laughed. His hands covered hers, ripping it open to reveal his perfect bare chest.

Lois leaned down and kissed him deeply, lifting her hips so Clark could slide her pants off of her. He cupped her bottom with his hands, pressing her firmly against him. She could feel his hardness through the thin wool of his pants. She reached between them, rubbing his cock through the fabric. He groaned, bucking his hips into her hand. She undid his belt buckle, and with his help, yanked his trousers and boxers down and off, throwing them off the bed.

Clark slid his hands under the waistband of her underwear, tossing them aside as well. He rubbed his pointer finger against her clit, gathering the wetness there and spreading the moisture across it. She moaned, rubbing her pelvis against his hand.

Her breathing sped up, and he kept a finger pressed on her button as he slid his cock inside of her. Her muscles squeezed him, and he thrust into her. He started a steady rhythm, matching his thrusts with the movement of his hand and his eyes unfocused. His x-ray vision kicked in. He'd never used his x-ray vision during sex before, and he found it incredibly arousing. He watched his cock inside of her, moving, twitching as she clenched around him. He closed his eyes, trying to prevent himself from coming.

He tuned in his super hearing, the speed of Lois's heart was increasing, and she was panting. The steady hum of the baby's heartbeat pervaded his senses.

"Clark." She moaned. "I'm going to…" She panted, gazing down at him, and he groaned.

"Come with me." He moved his hands back to her breasts, tugging at her nipples.

"Oh, God!" She squeezed around him, and he came with a groan.

Lois collapsed on top of him, and he smoothed her hair down. The sweat made her body slippery, and she slid off of him. He groaned at the loss of contact, but she smiled.

"We need to go meet your mom." She stood, and he smiled at her shamelessness. She gathered her clothes, and in minutes was dressed and staring down at him.

He grinned, and in a whirlwind was dressed himself.

"Well, let's get going then. We wouldn't want Mom to worry."

* * *

Lois and Clark spent the next few days in Washington D.C., hanging out with Martha Kent and seeing the sights. With Clark back in the picture, Lois's appetite returned ferociously, except in the morning. She found herself waking up around four a.m., the queasiness rising in her stomach.

Clark was the perfect gentleman. He rose when she did, holding her hair back and rubbing circles on her back. Martha made sure that there was tea and toast for her every morning, stating that it was the only thing that would deal with morning sickness effectively, and it did seem to work.

It was on the fourth morning there, when Lois woke up feeling like she was having a heart attack, that Clark flew them both home to Metropolis.

He burst into Watchtower, crying for Emil.

"What? What is it?" The doctor burst from his office to see Clark holding his fiancée, who was rubbing her chest and looking mildly annoyed.

"Something's wrong. Lois says her chest hurts. I x-rayed her, and everything looks fairly normal, but I'm no doctor." He said, gently setting Lois down. Emil whipped out his stethoscope, pressing it to Lois's chest.

Clark was shooed away, but several minutes later, Lois came out clutching a roll of Tums and smiling sheepishly.

"Severe heartburn. Apparently almost everyone gets it in their first trimester."

He sighed in relief, and Lois sat down next to him on the couch in Watchtower. He pressed his hand to her stomach, putting his face by his hand.

"Hey, you. You need to stop making your mom sick."

Lois laughed, resting her hand on the crown of Clark's head. He rested his head on her lap, focusing his hearing entirely on the baby's heartbeat.

"How many weeks does Emil think you are?" He asked, straightening.

"I know exactly how far along I am." She smiled and he turned his head questioningly.

"You remember when I was sick and on antibiotics?"

"Yeah…" He nodded and she laughed at his cluelessness.

"Antibiotics negate the effects of birth control."

"Ahh…" It finally hit him and he smiled. "So, about eight weeks?"

"Yep. Two months." He wrapped an arm around her shoulder, and she snuggled in. "Can you believe it's been a little over two months since Bobby was born?"

"No, I can't. Did we miss the christening and not realize it?" He asked, and she pulled away to look at him.

"No, they put it off. Oliver's been in and out of the country, so their life has been almost as crazy as ours…well, maybe not quite so crazy."

"So when is the christening?" He asked, helping her up from the couch.

"May 24th."

"Why so far from now?" He asked, grabbing her hand. They walked out into the street. He rested his arm across her shoulders, and her arm snaked around his waist.

"So Oliver can make sure he's in the country." She gave a little laugh and Clark smiled.

"Want to go catch a movie?" They were walking past a movie theater, and Lois looked at him, shocked.

"Don't you have patrol or work or something?"

"Nope. I took time off from work and I have my patrols being covered by Bart, Hal and Diana."

Lois stiffened at the other woman's name, and Clark looked at her apologetically.

"Clark, I never meant for you to give up work and patrol altogether. I just wanted you to find a healthy balance."

He nodded. "I know, Lois, but I thought it would be nice for us to have a few weeks to ourselves."

"Yeah, that does sound nice. Maybe we could go somewhere warm, where there's lots of sun?" She asked, and he grinned.

"Yeah! I know a perfect deserted little island off the coast of Fiji where we can spend a few days camping."

"Sounds great." She squeezed his hand, and they walked in silence for a few moments, before Lois broke the silence.

"So, have you talked to her since the incident?" She asked him, and he didn't bother to ask who she was talking about. He shook his head.

"I don't want to see her if all she's going to do is try and tear us apart."

They walked through the cold air, and Lois wondered how it had suddenly become late February. When had it become a new year? She didn't even remember New Years Eve, but then again, it could have been during those series of days when she couldn't get out of bed at Chloe's house. The first two months of this pregnancy had passed in a blur, but she was looking forward to savoring the next seven with Clark.

"So when is the next appointment with Emil?" He asked, and Lois shrugged.

"Two weeks." Her brow creased in worry, and he stopped, turning to face her.

"What's wrong?" He rested his hands on her shoulders.

"Emil wants to do a CVS at my next appointment."

"What's a CVS?" Clark asked.

"Well, according to Emil, it's where the doctor takes some of the cells from the baby and runs tests on it."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa." He put both hands up. "No one is taking a piece of my kid and running tests on it."

"Clark, its just Emil. It's not like he's going to send the samples to the government or anything. And, it's important to see if there's anything wrong with the baby. It might be half you, but it's also half me, and we don't know if I gave our child any genetic diseases or deformities."

"Wait a minute. Deformities? Like what?" He looked really worried now, and Lois laughed.

"You know, Down Syndrome stuff like that." She shrugged. "Look, I'm sure that everything is going to be fine, but this needs to happen. Emil also said it would be a good tool to see if the baby will have any of your powers while in the womb."

Clark's eyes looked like they were going to pop out of his head. "What?"

"Did you not hear me?" She blinked passively at him, and he looked at her, frustrated.

"Does he really think that that's possible?"

"He doesn't know, Clark. The only evidence of a half Kryptonian, half human child is from Kawatchee legend. That's the main reason he wants to run the test, since there's no record of this happening before."

Clark sighed. "Maybe we should go to the Fortress."

"No. Absolutely not." She shook her head. "I'm not going to be in suspended animation for seven months if Jor-El decides that it's too dangerous."

"Lois, we don't know what Jor-El would do. He might decide that everything's ok, and Emil won't even need to do the test."

"No, Clark. We don't know that! This test is perfectly routine, there's nothing to be scared of. Everything will be fine." She grasped his hand, threading her fingers through his.

"I don't know, Lois. This all seems really nerve wracking to me." He chewed on his bottom lip and Lois laughed.

"Parenting is nerve wracking, Clark. Get used to it." She paused, then tugged on his arm. "Come on, you can fix us lunch. I'm hungry."

He rolled his eyes. "Sure, come on."

"Hey, you better get used to this, buddy, because soon, the cravings start, which means pickles and ice cream every night." She smirked at him and he made a face.

"Gross."

"Yeah, maybe the whole pickles and ice cream thing is an urban myth. It doesn't sound very appetizing to me." She wrinkled her nose.

"Come on, I'll fix you a sandwich at home." They walked arm and arm back to the apartment, the test that was to take place in two weeks far from their mind.


	31. Chapter 31

Sorry, this chapter is kind of short. Enjoy! Once again, this fic is rated M for a reason. If this sort of thing offends you, please don't read. kthnx.

* * *

Clark awoke to an empty bed. He rolled over to glance at the clock, which read four a.m. He sat up, the blanket falling away from him. Swinging his legs over the edge, he stood and padded into the living room. Lois was sitting on the couch, her knees pulled up to her chest. _Love Actually_ was playing on the T.V. and tears were streaming down her cheeks.

"Hey." He sat down next to her, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. "Are you ok?"

"Yeah." She sniffled. "I just couldn't sleep, so I decided to put in a movie."

"You don't normally cry during movies." He smiled and tugged her on top of him, lying down on the couch. She pressed her cheek to his bare chest, his heartbeat a comforting hum in her ear.

"Hormones." She said, and he rubbed her back comfortingly.

"Are you disappointed that we haven't made it to our island, yet?" He asked, and she shook her head.

"No, I know it's my fault. I just haven't felt like really doing anything."

"Hey, it's not your fault. We both haven't really felt like doing a whole lot."

They watched the movie in silence for about fifteen minutes. Clark glanced down, and noticed that Lois was sound to sleep. Her mouth was hanging open slightly, and she was drooling on him. He struggled not to laugh and wake her up.

She groaned in her sleep, wrapping her arms tightly around his waist. Her brow wrinkled in her sleep. She was obviously having a bad dream.

He sighed. There was no way either of them were moving, because he wouldn't dare move her and wake her. He reached for the remote and clicked off the T.V.

He had gotten used to running on little sleep while he and Lois were separated. He'd spent most nights pacing the floorboards of the barn, worrying. It was nice to be back home with Lois in his arms. However, it seemed that his body couldn't go back to sleeping eight hours a night. He slept at most four hours, and the rest of the time he spent either doing house work for Lois. Normally he would have gone out on patrol, but he didn't dare leave Lois. Plus, they hadn't really discussed when he would return. He knew that the League was doing fine without him, but he still felt bad. No one else had the powers he had.

Clark held her, allowing her to sleep on top of him. The sun began to peek through the Venetian blinds, making a piano of light on the floor. The light moved across the room, and when it fell on him, he felt a calming surge of energy rush through him. He always felt better in the sun. Lois's face cleared, and she moaned, rubbing her cheek against his chest.

Lois's appointment with Emil was at nine, so Clark let her sleep. A little after seven, he gently picked her up. She opened her eyes sleepily, looking around the room.

"What time is it?" She asked as Clark set her on her feet.

"It's 7:30." He headed towards the kitchen to make breakfast. "I thought you'd want a shower before your appointment with Emil."

"Thanks, baby." She smiled sleepily at him and he nodded.

"Oh, hey, what do you want for breakfast?"

"Um, chicken salad." She sniffed toward the kitchen, and he looked shocked.

"Chicken salad?"

"Yeah." She grinned sheepishly at him. "I have a hankering for chicken salad." She walked toward him, wrapping her arms around his waist and gazing up at him. "Think you could whip me up some?" Lois licked her lips suggestively, and he gulped.

"There might be a reward in it for you." She pressed her lips to his, and he laughed.

"Sure thing. One batch of Ma Kent's chicken salad, coming right up."

* * *

Lois emerged from the bathroom, her damp hair pulled back into a ponytail. She'd tugged on a pair of jeans and a sweater. She walked into the kitchen, and Clark had set out a lump of chicken salad on a piece of lettuce, with chips next to it on the plate. He was also dressed in a pair of wool dress pants and a button down shirt. The sleeves were rolled up to reveal most of his forearms. ,

"Mmm." She licked her lips and sat down at the table, picking up a fork. She dug in, shoveling it in. Clark came up behind her, rubbing at the knots in her shoulders. She groaned as he hit the perfect spot. Her fork clattered to the semi-empty plate, and she looked up into his face.

"You're too good to me." He pressed his lips to her forehead and she craned her neck up to kiss his lips.

"Well, you deserve it. So does she." He nodded at her still flat abdomen, and her eyebrows disappeared into her hair.

"She? You promised you wouldn't peek!" She accused him, and he shook his head.

"I haven't. I'm going by my gut. I think we're having a girl. Why? Do you think we're having a boy?" He grabbed her plate, and scooped the final bite of chicken salad into his mouth. He dropped the plate in the sink then turned to look at her, resting his hands on the counter by his side. She moved toward him, sashaying her hips seductively. He ran his eyes from her feet, all the way up to her eyes.

Lois placed her hands on the counter beside him, kissing him deeply. He brought his hands to her hips as she pressed her lips to his neck, finding his sweet spot. In a few short minutes, she had him panting with desire. Her hands went to his waist, yanking his shirt from the waistband of his pants.

Deft hands undid his belt buckle and yanked the belt from its loops.

"Lois, wait." He put both hands up. "We're going to be late."

"No we won't. I'll be fast." She grinned at him as she twisted at the button on his pants, dragging the zipper down. She shoved his pants and boxers down, and they pooled around his ankles.

"Wait. Maybe we shouldn't." He sighed.

"Don't you want to?" Her mouth turned down in displeasure.

"No, I want to, I just don't want us to be late."

"I said-I'll be fast." She kneeled in front of him, his cock standing straight up.

She ran her tongue along the vein and he groaned, resting his hand on her head.

She captured the mushroomed head in her mouth, twirling her tongue around it. He gasped at the sensation, tugging his fingers through her thick locks. In one fluid motion, she swallowed as much of it as she could, wrapping her fingers around the base.

He began to move his hips in time with her ministrations, moving carefully so as not to choke her. Her teeth scraped lightly against him and he moaned. Her hands gently cupped his balls, and he looked down at her. Her eyes swung up to his face, and the minute his eyes met hers, he could feel the pressure building in his abdomen and eyes.

"Oh, God." He groaned. "Lois…" He tried to warn her, but she wrapped her lips tightly around him. His hips snapped forward as he emptied into her. She swallowed, slurping slightly, before pulling away. He leaned heavily against the counter, completely spent.

Lois grabbed his pants, pulling them up, and gently tucking him away. She stood, wrapping her arms around his waist. He rested his chin on the top of her head. She looked up, and he pressed his lips to hers.

"You didn't have to do that, you know." He brushed her bangs out of her face and she grinned.

"I know. But you deserve it." She rested her chin on his chest, gazing up at him.

"Why do you say that?"

Lois sighed. "Clark…I've been an ass. Maybe it was the hormones, or maybe I'm just jealous, but that whole Diana thing…I should have given you the benefit of the doubt, and I'm sorry I didn't."

"Hey, I thought this was all water under the bridge."

"It's really be on my mind, lately. I'm sorry I was such a bitch."

"It's ok. You weren't a bitch. You were hormonal." He laughed a little, and she smiled.

Lois glanced at the clock on the microwave. "Oh shit." She smiled. "You're right. We're late."

* * *

Clark appeared in Watchtower, cradling Lois in his arms. Emil was talking to Chloe who was bouncing Bobby.

"Sorry, we slept in." Lois said with a smile and Chloe nodded.

"Are you ready?" Emil asked, and Lois paled.

"I guess so."

"You have nothing to worry about, Lois. It's routine." He smiled reassuringly, patting her on the arm.

"Should I come too?" Clark asked nervously, and Emil shook his head.

"Let her get changed first. I'll come and get you when we're ready to start." Emil said and Chloe followed.

A few minutes later, Chloe peeked out of the exam room, gesturing for Clark to come in.

He walked through the door. Lois was sitting in a paper gown on the examining table. Two scary looking metal contraptions were attached to the end, and he felt nervous. A monitor with a wand attached to it was also in the room, and he wished he knew more about all of this medical mumbo jumbo.

Lois smiled reassuringly at him, and he went to grasp her hand.

"Alright, Lois. If you're ready, go ahead and lie back." Emil told her and she leaned back.

Chloe draped a cloth over her bottom half as her feet were propped up in the stirrups. Lois's gown was pulled up to reveal her stomach, and Chloe turned on the monitor and squeezed some gel on Lois's belly. She pressed the wand to his fiancée, and the monitor immediately lit up in shades of gray and white.

"Ok, I'm going to do the procedure now." Emil said gently, picking up a long thin tube. Lois nodded, looking away, but Clark couldn't take his eyes off of the monitor. He imagined that he could see the baby, but he was sure there was nothing really to see, yet.

Emil was gazing intently at the screen, his brow furrowed.

"Are you ok?" Clark asked Lois and she nodded.

"I don't feel a thing."

"Hmm." Emil looked confused. "I'm having trouble getting a sample…I'm going to try and go in through the abdominal wall." He pulled the tube out slowly, picking up a long needle and syringe. Lois gulped, closing her eyes.

"Needles make me a little nervous." She said, opening her eyes and looking at Clark.

"It's ok, just look at me." He smiled reassuringly and she grimaced.

Emil brought the needle to Lois's stomach, and Clark watched as Emil pressed the needle into Lois's skin and as the needle broke in half.

"What the heck was that?" Lois asked, looking down. Emil held the broken needle and syringe in his hand, bewildered.

"I'm not sure." Emil grabbed another needle and tried to insert it again, with the same results.

He dropped the second broken needle in the trashcan, a look crossing his face.

"What's up, Emil?"

"I can't penetrate Lois's skin." He gazed at the monitor intently. "Chloe, snap a few pictures, will you?"

"Sure thing." She pressed a few buttons, and some pictures spit out. Emil gazed at them, his brow furrowed. The entire room was silent as Emil's eyes ran across the pictures. He sat down, his expression suddenly clearing.

"I think I have an idea...a hypothesis." He said, looking at the couple nervously.

"What is it, doc?" Lois asked, and he smiled sheepishly.

"Ok, well, the baby and Lois are attached through the uterine wall to allow for gas exchange, nutrient uptake and waste disposal through Lois's blood. In doing so, I think that the baby is sharing its powers with Lois." Emil looked almost excited.

"What a minute. The baby isn't exposed to the sun, so how can she have powers already?" Clark asked, confused.

"No, that's the interesting part. I think that the baby is, in effect, forcing Lois to convert the sun's rays into energy, so it can convert that energy into developing it's powers." Emil said, his excitement growing.

"Oh God." Lois put her head in her hands. "I'm going to die, aren't I?" Tears were leaking out of the corners of her eyes.

"What?" Emil grabbed a tissue and handed it to her. She blew her nose, and Chloe rubbed her back comfortingly.

"No, Lois. You aren't going to die." Emil said with a laugh, and Lois shook her head.

"Jonathon Kent had Clark's powers for 24 hours. Two years later he died of a heart attack. I'm going to have Clark's powers for nine months!" She was hysterical. She pushed Chloe and Clark away, swinging her feet over the side of the examination table.

"No, Lois, I don't think so." Emil shook his head. "I'll have to take some blood samples of course, which means we'll need some blue kryptonite, but I think that once you and the baby have been separated, your body will continue to convert sunlight into powers."

"Wait." She whipped her head around to face him. "You think that I'll have Clark's powers for the rest of my life?" Her eyes looked like they were about ready to pop out of her head.

"Well, I doubt you'll have all of them. Most likely you'll have the most passive ones, invulnerability and the increased life span." He said it with a smile, and Lois immediately felt better. "However, I do think you should go to the Fortress. I'd be interested in seeing what Jor-El has to say about all this."

Lois sighed. "Well, I guess we have no choice but to go see Jor-El."


	32. Chapter 32

Clark took off from Watchtower, Lois clasped in his arms. Her head rested on his shoulder, and looked as if all the energy had been drained out of her.

He landed on the roof of their apartment building and set her gently on her feet. In a whir, he was out of his costume and back in his standard dress pants and button down.

"I want to go on that vacation now." Lois said suddenly, sticking her hands in her pockets.

"Ok…" He started cautiously. "Any reason why?"

"If I'm going to spend the next seven months in suspended animation, I want to enjoy it."

Clark sighed. "Lois, we don't know what Jor-El will do." He grabbed her hand and squeezed it tightly, drawing her to him. "I promise, I'll protect you."

"Clark, you can't promise that." She tried to tug herself out of his grasp, but he held her fast. "How many times has Jor-El trapped you or done something you didn't like?"

"Uh…" His face screwed up as he tried to count, but she cut him off.

"How about the time he trapped you or the time he destroyed the Fortress, or took away your powers?" She wriggled out of his arms and put her hands on her hips.

"Lois, he hasn't done anything since I've become Superman. He's been nothing but helpful for the last year." He said exasperated.

"What if he decides I'm too dangerous?" Her face had gone white with worry. "What if he decides that our baby is too dangerous?"

"What if the baby _is_ dangerous?" He grasped both of her hands, looking into her eyes. "Emil said he'd have to run some tests, but at most, you're only a small percentage Kryptonian now. The baby's half Kryptonian. She could still kill you."

"He wouldn't." Lois wrenched her hands back, covering her belly with both hands. "He loves me. He needs me."

Clark huffed in frustration. "I know that, Lois, but she doesn't know what she's doing." He wrapped an arm around her. "We'll figure this out, Lo, but I really think Jor-El can help. Just-trust me."

"I do. I do trust you."

"Then let me take care of you." He pushed open the door that led down into the apartment building. "I'll pack your stuff and we can leave for Fiji tonight." He grinned and she smiled back.

"Ok. Let's go."

* * *

Clark had flown ahead to set up the tent and fly their luggage over. She didn't bother to change. She'd be changing into her bikini the minute she got there, so what was the point, really?

Now, he was standing in front of her, ready to take off. She nodded at him and the next thing she knew, they were on the island.

A waterfall cascaded down some rocks and into a deep pool. A forest had grown up around it, and Clark had pitched their tent in the most ideal place. It was right on the edge of the forest, where the dirt turned into sand. The waterfall was just a stone's throw away. Sun filtered green through the trees and played across the deep indigo of the water.

"I love it." She said, taking in the sights. "But, how are we going to eat?"

He looked at her like she was slow. "Lois, I can fly anywhere or catch our food. Don't worry about that."

"Ok." She started heading toward the pool, yanking her shirt over her head as she walked.

"What are you doing?" He asked, trailing behind her.

"I'm going swimming." Now it was her turn to look at him like he was slow.

"Oh…right." He watched as she shucked her clothes and jumped into the crystalline water, her head emerging from the deep blue water a few seconds later.

"Are you coming?" She shouted, pushing wet hair out of her face.

In a flash, Clark was in the water with her.

* * *

They spent an idyllic week on that island. Lois found she had a distinct craving for the sun. She and Clark had spread their limbs languidly in the sun. At the end of the day, she expected to be red from the sun, but she was barely brown. She noticed that when she was in the sun, she just felt better. Her morning sickness abated and her mood swings lessened.

Finally, the morning of their last day there, Clark broached the topic of the Fortress.

"Lois, about the Fortress…" he started, but she stopped him.

"I know, Clark. I know what you're going to say. I've been thinking about it all week." She collapsed into the sand, allowing the sun to warm her skin.

He sat down next to her. "And what did you decide?"

She sighed. "I think we'll have to go see Jor-El. He's the only one who can really tell us anything."

Clark nodded, brushing sand off of his legs. "Well, we're due at work tomorrow, so we should head up to the Fortress today."

Lois groaned. "Do we have to?" She stuck out her lower lip in a pout. "I don't want to go back to work."

"I know." He scooted closer to her, sliding his arm under her head and lying down next to her. "But we have to."

She heaved a sigh before clambering to her feet. "Well, let's get going then. We need to run home and get changed, because there's no way in hell I'm going to the Arctic looking like this." She gestured to her completely nude body and he grinned.

"Why? I think you look great."

She rolled her eyes at him. "Ok, number one, I'll freeze. Number two, do you really want the AI of your dad to see me naked?"

"Good point." He grinned. "I'll be back." He was off in a flash with the tent and luggage. Every time he left her somewhere, a part of her worried that he wouldn't come back, that he'd be deterred or kidnapped and she'd have to survive on her own.

About five minutes later, just enough time for worry to start to gnaw at her, he returned, clad in his costume and holding some clothes out to her.

She took a quick dip in the pool to get all the sand that had built up on her hair and skin then tugged on the clothes. He had remembered everything: snowsuit, parka, wool socks, boots and scarf among other things.

Soon, she was standing under the hot sun sweating. Clark scooped her up, a blue and red streak against the sky. He wanted to get her there as soon as possible, before she overheated.

The next thing she knew, she was standing under the towering crystals of the Fortress. Before she or Clark could move, or even speak, the center console lit up, and she was engulfed in a beam of light.

Clark watched as Lois was completely submerged in a beam of light. She was lifted off of her feet, floating.

"Jor-El! What's going on?" He was starting to panic. At his shout, the light disappeared, and Lois was set back on her feet. She was rubbing her forearm, and Clark blurred to her side.

"Are you ok?" He asked, and she nodded.

"He asked why I was here, and I told him. He asked if he could take blood to run tests and I said yes. He's running the tests now." She smiled at him comfortingly. "You know, Clark, he seemed really pleased when I told him I was pregnant."

He sighed in relief just as the console lit up again.

"Hello Kal-El."

"Hello Father. What have you found?" Clark shouted into the vastness.

Jor-El's voice boomed out at them. It sounded happy. Well, happy for an AI.

"Lois Lane's genetic material has changed since she has last been here."

"Yes, we know that. Tell us everything you know." Clark said, exasperated.

"Lois Lane's DNA is now 26.29% Kryptonian, 60.75% Caucasoid and 12.96% Native American. The genetic material of your son is 51.82% Kryptonian, 41.14% Caucausoid and 7.04% Native American. Your daughter's DNA is 52.57% Kryptonian, 39.96% Caucasoid and 7.47% Native American."

Both Lois and Clark stood in shock for a good five minutes. Finally, Lois broke the silence.

"Uh…what?"

* * *

Lois thought that the irony that was occurring in the aftermath of the visit to the fortress was incredibly amusing. She couldn't stop smiling.

After Jor-El had told them that they were having twins, he'd gone on to explain that Emil's hypothesis was correct. The babies were forcing her body to convert the sun's rays into powers. When the babies were born, her body would continue to function like a Kryptonian's, but with limited powers. Jor-El had been unable to tell them what powers she would exhibit, since the last Kryptonian who had bred with a human had been Na-Man.

The babies were small enough that they still couldn't use their powers. They were just using the extra energy to grow. Which, as Jor-El had said, might cause Lois to go into labor early. If everything progressed as a normal human pregnancy, the babies probably wouldn't be able to start using their powers until the fifth month in uteruo. Clark had almost had a heart attack when he heard that. He had been slightly mollified to hear that his most dangerous power, the heat vision, wouldn't kick in until puberty, as his had.

They had left, Lois's fears soothed, but Clark just seemed more agitated.

"Clark what's wrong with you?" She asked as once again they landed on their apartment building roof.

He sighed. "Lois, we're having two babies that can possibly kill you. One baby was enough, but two?" He looked panicked.

"I don't think you're worried about the babies being Kryptonian, I think you're worried about having twins. You'll have the same powers and I'll have some of them too. We'll be fine, ok? I promise."

"You can't know that, Lois." He chewed on the inside of his cheek and Lois shook her head.

"You asked me to trust you, now I'm asking you to trust me. I just know that things are going to be fine." She brushed her fingers across his face and he nodded.

She punched him lightly on the arm before grabbing his hand and dragging him toward the door. "Come on Superman, you can make your pregnant fiancée lunch."


	33. Chapter 33

The day that marked Lois's twelfth week of pregnancy dawned clear and bright. For the first time in three months, she wasn't nauseous. She rose before Clark, hopping in the shower. It was their first day back at work, and she wanted to look nice. Lately all she'd been wearing was sweatpants. When she emerged from the bathroom, she tugged on a work shirt, struggling a little with the buttons on her favorite sky blue dress shirt. It was surprisingly still loose around her abdomen, but tight around her breasts.

She walked out into the bedroom. She had intended on waking Clark when she got out of the shower, but she found that the bed was already empty, the sheets creased and rumpled.

Lois walked into the kitchen. Her fiancée was standing at the stove, dressed immaculately. His suit wasn't creased for once. The gray suit was still two sizes too big, but the black tie set it off nicely. The only thing he needed to complete his mild-mannered reporter persona, were his glasses.

She touched him lightly on the shoulder, and he glanced over, smiling. "What's for breakfast?" She asked, moving to sit at the table.

"French toast, bacon and orange juice." He smiled, and she licked her lips.

"Good, I'm hungry."

He slid three huge slices of French toast onto a plate along with four slices of bacon.

"There's no way I can eat all of this." She said, her eyes huge.

"Just try. You'll need to keep your energy up and eat more to put on weight. The babies need more than sun for energy, and since they, and you, I guess now, have high metabolisms, you'll need to eat more." He said anxiously.

She sighed. "Alright. I'll try." She looked, unbelievingly at the pile of food in front of her. He poured syrup over the plate, and she dug in.

As the first bite of food hit her tongue, she moaned. Clark laughed and she smiled sheepishly. She hadn't realized how hungry she was until the food was in front of her.

He watched as Lois began shoveling food into her mouth, and he picked at his own plate. Fifteen minutes later, Lois's plate was empty, and she was staring at it in disbelief.

"Feel better?" He asked, finishing his own plate.

"Actually…yeah. I feel like I could eat more." She said with a half smile.

"Do you want me to fix you more?" He was up and out of his chair and heading to the stove before Lois could stop him.

"Clark, seriously, I'm fine." She laughed, but he shook his head.

"No, it's my job to take care of you. What can I make you?" He looked at her expectantly.

She glanced at the clock. "Fix me a PB&J to go. We're late."

Lois grabbed both of their jackets from the closet and turned to hand Clark his.

He took it and handed her the sandwich. She grinned, and together they walked out onto the street, heading towards the Daily Planet.

* * *

When they arrived at work, they separated, Clark heading to their office, and Lois heading toward Perry's office.

He had called and asked her to stop by his office to catch him up on events. She knocked gently on the door to Perry's office.

"Come in!" He shouted, and Lois walked in.

"Lane! How are you?" He jumped up from behind his desk and ushered her to a chair.

"I'm fine, Perry." She laughed at him and sat down at the chair across from his desk.

"So, what's going on?" He looked nervous, and she laughed.

"Well, Clark and I are back together, which I'm sure you're pleased about." She smiled. "Also, I'm not sure how early I'm supposed to inform you, but I'm going to need to take maternity leave the weeks of September 2nd through October 15th."

"Oh. Ok." He pulled out a calendar and jotted the dates down. "You look great, by the way." He said brusquely. "They don't lie about that pregnancy glow, do they?"

She laughed. "Thanks, Perry. I feel great."

"So, any news on the baby?" He asked and she nodded.

"Yep. We're having twins. A boy and a girl."

"Twins?" Perry almost squeaked.

"Yep."

"Oh boy." Perry's eyes grew wide.

"Yep. Well, thanks Perry. I'm going to get back to work." She smiled and stood, and Perry stood as well.

"If you need anything, anything at all, Lane, let me know."

She smiled. "Thanks Perry." She walked out of the office and into the bullpen. It felt like everyone was watching her, and she nodded at them.

She approached her and Clark's office, she noticed that the door was open and Cat Grant was once again hovering over her fiancée. Anger was boiling up inside of her.

Before she could even think she was striding into the office, grabbing the back of Cat's shirt and dragging her out of the office.

"Hey! Hey!" She squirmed, but Lois's improved strength rendered Cat's squirming useless.

"Get out and stay out." She snarled in the blonde's face. Cat looked as if she had never seen Lois before. "I don't know what is with all these girls hitting on my fiancée, but he is with me. He is marrying me. I am pregnant with his children. Now get the fuck out." She pushed Cat and the other woman stumbled back.

"What? You're pregnant?" Her face fell, and Lois smiled nastily at her.

Before Lois could say anything, Clark was at her side.

"Yes, she is. And I'd prefer it if you didn't get her worked up, Cat." He kept his face passive, but said to her kindly, "Maybe you should listen to her and get out and not come back."

She looked like Clark had smacked her. "Surely you don't mean that."

"Yes, I do." He pulled Lois back into the office, and shut the door in Cat's face.

"I can't believe you just did that." Lois stared at him in disbelief, and he shrugged.

"Well, I agree with you." He moved to embrace her, and she let him.

"Agree with me about what?" She rested her chin on his chest, looking up into his face.

"I just don't understand why all these women want to be with me. Especially when they know I'm with you."

"You're kidding me, right?" Lois pulled away and walked over to her desk, plopping down. "Even when you aren't Superman, you're like, the most attractive man that works here. Of course they want you."

Clark shrugged. "I'm just getting sick of it."

"Yeah, tell me about it." She grinned and he smiled back at her.

* * *

By the end of the workday, Lois had a headache. Every time she walked through the bullpen, Cat Grant would stare at her angrily. She'd started work on a story about a hit and run on 15th street, and she was having a hard time getting the victim to talk to her.

Clark kept glancing at her every fifteen minutes, his eyebrows raised questioningly. He'd gone to get her snacks from the vending machine every two hours. He was the perfect fiancée, but it was starting to get on her nerves already. She loved him, she really did, but she needed him to believe that she could take care of herself.

"So, when are you going back to patrolling?" She asked and he shrugged.

"I don't know. Maybe not until after the babies are born."

"Clark, you need to go back sooner than that." Lois said, and he shook his head.

"No, my job is to take care of you."

"I can take care of myself. I never wanted you to give up being Superman altogether." She pulled a newspaper from the week they were in Fiji out of her bag, tossing it to him. The headline read, "Where is Superman?"

"You need to go back. The world needs you. You just have to balance work, patrol and home."

He sighed, running his fingers through his hair. "Lois…"

"No, Clark, no excuses. Ollie is able to do it, so you should be able to, too." She picked up her cell phone, flipping it open and dialing Oliver's number.

He picked up after two rings.

"Queen."

"Oliver, it's Lois." She said, and she could sense his smile when he responded.

"Hey, Lois. How are you?"

"Fine. I just wanted to let you know that Clark can be put back on the patrol roster." She said and he was silent.

"Are you there?"

"Yeah, I'm here." He cleared his throat. "I'm just a little surprised, that's all."

"Why?"

"Well, I just thought that with everything that's gone on the last few months you'd want more time alone together."

"Ok, look. I can take care of myself. I know that things have been a little iffy in the past, but we're finally in a good place. I trust him." She said in a small voice.

Oliver snorted in derision. "Well that's new, because about two weeks ago you couldn't get out of bed because you thought he was cheating on you."

She winced. "I know. I screwed up." She looked at Clark pointedly, and found he was staring at her, a small smile playing across his face. "I know now that he would never cheat on me. I was dumb to think that."

"Well, whatever you say toots." She could hear papers rustling on the other end then he spoke again. "He can patrol tonight from eight to four, if that works for you."

"Is it with Diana?" She said sharply, and he sighed.

"No, it's with Bart."

"Ok, good. He can go back as long as it's not with Diana." She said smugly.

"He's going to have to work with her at some point, Lois. You guys can't avoid her forever."

"Watch me." She said then promptly flipped her phone shut.

Clark was grinning stupidly at her, and she smiled back.

"Do you really think that?"

"Think that I was dumb and that I screwed up? Yeah, I do." She grimaced at him.

"Well, I screwed up too. I think we've established that we were both pretty idiotic."

She nodded. "Ok, well, it's almost five and I'm tired. Walk me home?" She grabbed her bag and jacket and he nodded.

"Just let me finish up this last paragraph." His fingers sped across the keyboard. He clicked twice on his mouse and then stood, grabbing his own jacket.

"Let's go."

* * *

When they got home, Clark set about fixing dinner. They'd had a deep discussion about eating healthy, and he had insisted that she should at least try to eat more vegetables and less doughnuts. She didn't really understand why he was insisting on it. Its not like bad food could really harm her now, but he'd remained steadfast.

While he was tinkering in the kitchen, she went into the bathroom. She pulled her shirt up to look at her still flat belly. She couldn't believe that there were actually two babies in there. She placed her hand across her lower abdomen. It felt a little hard to the touch.

In just a few short months, she would be huge. Would Clark still find her attractive? Would she have a reason to be concerned then? She didn't think so, but she'd never had to deal with this before. This was whole new territory. She took off her work clothes, intending to change into her pajamas. She was exhausted. She gazed at her nude body in the mirror, noting the subtle changes. Her breasts were slightly fuller, and her nipples were several shades darker. It didn't look like she had put on much weight, if any.

There was a light tap on the bathroom door, and she looked over her shoulder. Clark was standing in the doorway, and he moved forward, wrapping his arms around her waist and letting both hands rest lightly over hers. He bent his head down to nibble gently on her shoulder and she felt a surge of desire rush through her.

She moaned and rested her head against his chest. These hormones were wrecking havoc on her body. But then again, she'd always felt this way when Clark kissed her, so the hormones were just intensifying everything.

"What do you think?" She asked and he met her eyes in the mirror.

"I think you look amazing."

She rolled her eyes. "You're just saying that because my boobs are bigger."

"Well, kind of." He smiled and she turned to punch him in the arm. He caught her hand and pulled her close. She rested her head on his chest, listening to the steady hum of his heart and enjoying the steady rise and fall of his breath.

Lois yawned widely and Clark gave a little laugh. "Come on, let's get you fed and put into bed. You've had a big day."

She nodded.

"I hope you feel like spaghetti."

She smiled. "I always feel like spaghetti."

* * *

When dinner was finished, they lay entwined on the couch, the T.V. playing on mute. His head was pressed to her lower abdomen. It was odd. Even when he was using his super hearing, the babies' heartbeats sounded like one. He had to almost strain his ears to pick up the slight difference in cadence. He couldn't wait until he could feel them move beneath Lois's skin.

He looked up, and her eyes were closed, and they moved rapidly beneath her eyelids. She was obviously dreaming, and not for the first time he wished he could see what she was seeing. He kissed her lightly on the nose, pulling himself from her grasp. He stood over her, sliding his hands under her. He lifted her effortlessly. Her head lolled to the side and she gasped in her sleep. Clark placed her gently under the covers then ducked out of the room to clean the kitchen.

* * *

Lois was chained to a hospital bed, a blue kryptonite and titanium chain wrapped around her, pinning her to her place. Her distended belly was exposed. A blanket covered her privates and a plain white sports bra painfully restrained her breasts. She struggled against her bonds. The skin of her stomach rippled, and she felt a tiny foot kick against her ribs, knocking the wind out of her. She couldn't see beyond the bed she lie in, the rest of the room lie in darkness. A doctor in full surgical garb appeared, sticking a needle into her stomach, and she screamed. The doctor pulled down his facemask, revealing none other than Lex Luthor.

* * *

Clark heard the frantic screams coming from the bedroom and rushed in. Lois was writhing under the covers, screaming at the top of her lungs. He grabbed her shoulders, his fingers leaving white marks on her skin. Her eyes flew open, and he wrapped his arms around her.

Lois wept pitifully into his bare chest, her eyes brimming and overflowing with tears. Her shoulders wracked with sobs.

"Lois, what is it?" He whispered into her hair, and she shook her head. "Lois, tell me. Please."

She looked up into his eyes, and he traced the tear tracks on her cheeks with his thumbs.

"I was in a hospital bed and Lex Luthor was running tests on me and our babies. Oh, God." She pressed the heels of her palms into her eyes. "It was so real."

"He can't hurt you. He'll never hurt you."

"We don't know that." He could see the cogs working in her brain. "If he were to gain his memory back, he would want to run tests on us. He'd want to know why his original clones didn't work, and how they were different from us." She placed a protective hand over the spot where their children lie.

"He'll never lay a hand on you." He growled. "Never. I'd die before he touched you or the children."

This seemed to soothe her, and she nodded. "I'm sorry I bothered you."

"You're not a bother." He brushed her hair out of her face, and lay down with her in bed. "Go back to sleep. I'm here now."

Lois buried her face in the crook of his neck, throwing an arm and a leg over him. In seconds, she was back to sleep, a peaceful look across her face.


	34. Chapter 34

Lois lay on the bed, her favorite pair of work pants tugged over her hips, the fly open and gaping. She took a deep breath, sucking in her stomach as much as she could. She yanked on the fabric roughly, silently willing the edges to meet. She shoved the button into it's opening, quickly dragging the zipper up.

She lay on the bed, holding her breath. She sat up tentatively, and groaned when the button popped off of her pants and fell pitifully to the floor. She looked down. The zipper had completely broken.

"Son of a bitch." She fell back down to the bed. Laughter came from the doorway, and she sat up, glaring at her fiancé.

"Fuck you." She growled and he continued to grin.

"Language, Lois. Don't want the babies coming out cussing like sailors." He wagged his finger at her, but instead of laughing, her mouth turned down in a frown. Clark Kent stood in the doorway, one of the biggest sandwiches Lois had ever seen clutched in his fist.

"None of my clothes fit. I've tried on every piece of clothing, and nothing but sweat pants fit, and the hell if I'm going into work in sweatpants." She growled and he shrugged.

"So go shopping today." He took a giant bite out of the sandwich, and Lois's stomach growled.

"Ok." She smiled at him happily. She brought her finger up and beckoned him over. He smiled innocently, and stood in front of her. In a flash, the sandwich was out of his hand and in hers. He blinked at his now empty hand, and she grinned.

"Thanks."

"How'd you do that?" He asked, taken aback.

"I don't know. I just took it." She took a big bite and his brow furrowed in worry. "Why?"

"You don't think it's odd that you were able to grab that out of my hand without me noticing?" His eyebrows almost disappeared into his hair.

Lois shrugged. "No. You weren't really paying attention." She devoured the entire sandwich in five bites then grinned up at him.

"Want to go shopping with me?" She hopped off of the bed, her pants pooling around her ankles. She kicked them into the walk in closet, and then followed them in. She emerged a few seconds later, tugging a pair of sweatpants over her hips.

"I actually have a story to finish." He said regretfully. "And Perry wants me to investigate a bank robbery that Hal stopped this morning."

"Oh. Ok. I'll call Chloe." She grinned and he smiled.

"Have fun. Want me to make you another sandwich before you leave?"

"Please." She followed him into the kitchen, and he put together two more club sandwiches. Clark handed one to her and placed a kiss on her lips.

"See you tonight."

He blurred out of the room. Lois wolfed down the sandwich then picked up her phone.

"Chloe, it's me. Want to go shopping with me?"

"Lois!" Chloe squealed. "How've you been?"

"Good. I need new clothes though. None of my clothes with buttons actually fit." She said, smiling.

"Yeah, that happens. I wish I could, but Bobby is a little sick." She said regretfully.

"Oh. Ok. Well, I'll go by myself." She said shrugging.

"I'm sorry."

"It's ok. No worries. Where did you buy most of your maternity clothes?" Lois hopped on the counter, swinging her legs.

"I bought most of my clothes at A Pea in a Pod, Blueberry Baby and Eco Maternity. They're really stylish and Eco Maternity does organic clothes." Chloe told her, growing more excited with every word.

"Ok, thanks. I better get going."

"Alright. Give them my name and they'll put it on my tab." Chloe said, and Lois shook her head.

"Chlo, I can pay for my own clothes. Just because you're husband is a trillionaire, doesn't mean you have to pay for all of my stuff." Lois protested.

"But I want to." Lois's cousin pouted, and she sighed.

"Tell you what, I'll only get a few things today and when you and I go shopping, you can pay for whatever you want." She reasoned with Chloe, and the blonde squealed so loudly, Lois had to pull the phone away from her ear.

"Chloe, you're going to break my eardrum. I seriously need to get going if I'm going to get some clothes and get to work." Lois gave a little laugh.

"Ok. Ok. We'll go shopping on Saturday. Clark and Ollie can join us."

"Alright, I'll see you then."

"Bye, Lo." Chloe said happily, and Lois snapped her phone shut.

* * *

Three hours later, Lois left the last store, staggering under the weight of the bags she carried. She had only intended on purchasing a few work clothes, but had left with five maternity skirt suits, six blouses, several tee shirts, underwear, bras, and four pairs of jeans that had the funky panel in the front that would expand as she put on more weight. The saleswomen at each store had been incredibly convincing, but she had a feeling that she would have to come back for more as she got bigger. With two babies in there, she was probably going to get bigger than a normal pregnant woman.

She got Carlo to help her up to the apartment, and when he left, Lois dumped all of the clothes out on the bed, snipped off the tags and pulled on a charcoal skirt suit and a sunshine yellow blouse. She grinned at herself in the mirror then grabbed at her phone. She quickly dialed Clark's number, and he answered after the first ring.

"Is everything ok?" He didn't even bother to say hello, and she snorted.

"Everything's fine. I'm on my way to work. Want to meet me for lunch?"

"Sure. Meet me at Mike's Deli on 21st street?"

"See you soon." She snapped her phone shut and walked out of the apartment.

* * *

When she arrived at the deli, Clark was already sitting at a table by a window. He waved happily at her, and she bustled through the door, grinning at him. He'd already ordered food for both of them. He'd ordered her usual, a Rueben with extra sauerkraut and two bags of chips. She laughed as he nudged the tray towards her.

"How was shopping?" He stole one of her chips, and she knocked his hand away.

"Hey!" She placed both hands defensively over her food. "I'm the pregnant one."

"So that means you won't share with me?" He pouted.

"No, that means you have to eat your own food. I'm the one eating for three." She popped a chip in her mouth, crunching down on it happily. "Shopping was good. I bought more than I intended to." She smiled sheepishly and he shrugged.

"Well, if you need it, you need it."

"Yep, and they fit really well." She gestured to the new clothes she was wearing.

"They look good." He nudged her foot with his and she grinned.

"Thank you."

They ate the rest of the meal in peace. Lois convinced Clark that they needed dessert, and when they were done, he stood to order it. He looped easily through the lunch crowd, standing in line at the counter. She watched him in delight. It finally seemed like their lives were back on track. It had been a rough few months, but now everything was falling into place.

A shadow fell over Lois's face, and Lex Luthor stood over her. She gasped at the sight of his face. The last time she had seen it had been in her dream, and he'd been hovering over her, a malicious smile playing across his face and a needle in his hand.

"Hello, Lois." The smile on his face now appeared genuine, and she nodded.

"Hello Lex." She said this loudly, and out of the corner of her eye she saw Clark whip around from where he was standing at the counter. His eyes narrowed and she nodded at him, smiling. Lex turned to see who she was looking at, and when he saw Clark he waved jauntily. Her fiancé nodded then turned away when he saw she wasn't in any immediate danger. She was sure he was listening uneasily from the counter.

"May I sit?" He gestured at the empty side of the table and she nodded.

"Good. There was something I wanted to talk to you about." He sat opposite her, and her stomach turned uneasily.

"Oh. Ok." She said as Clark approached the table, a plate in each hand. He set a plate down in front of her then moved behind her to sit at the chair closest to the window.

"Thanks." She grinned at him and he smiled back. She looked down at the plate in front of her and smiled. He had gotten her favorite, pumpkin bread pudding with vanilla crème anglaise. Lois picked up her spoon and dug in. Lex smiled at them.

"I've noticed that you haven't had many articles written, lately, Lois." He said, crossing his legs. It felt like her heart was in her throat. Was he keeping tabs on her? What if he was having her followed?

Clark spoke for her. "We went away for awhile on vacation…to celebrate." He picked at his dessert, chocolate cake and Lex cocked his head in confusion.

"What were you celebrating?"

Clark put his fork down and wrapped an arm around her shoulders, placing a large warm hand on her abdomen and smiled at Lex. "We're pregnant."

A look passed across Lex's face, but before Lois could register what it was, it was gone, replaced with a smile.

"Congratulations." He reached out to shake Clark's hand, and he shook it genially.

Lois felt uneasy. Something wasn't right. She finished her bread pudding quickly, so they could get out of there. She didn't know how Clark did it. How he was able to pretend that he and Lex had never met, and how he could talk so easily to him. They had been best friends, and now they were barely aquaintances.

"Well, Lois. What do you think?" Lex was looking at her expectantly, and she was torn from her thoughts. She looked guiltily at the two men. Clark was warning her with his eyes, but he was smiling gently.

"I'm sorry, I was thinking about something else." She said apologetically. "What was the question?"

"Lex invited us over for dinner this weekend. I said I didn't think we could make it because of the thing that you had planned."

"Oh, right. Yeah, the thing in D.C." She nodded, making it up on the fly.

"What are you doing in D.C.?" Lex asked, raising his eyebrows.

"We're staying with Clark's mom for the weekend. We haven't seen her in awhile and she's going to help me with buying baby furniture and maternity clothes and that stuff. Maybe a different weekend." She smiled and Clark nodded.

"Well, we have to get back to work." Clark said, grabbing her elbow. She bobbed her head in agreement and they stood, rushing out of the café. Neither of them noticed the imprints on the table from where Lois's hands had been clutching it nervously.

When they got back to the Daily Planet, Clark ushered Lois into their office, closing the door. It was only then that Lois allowed herself to fall apart. She sat down on the loveseat, leaning forward as far as she could and took deep shuddering breaths. The panic was starting to creep away, but it was still there. Clark sat next to her, wrapping an arm around her shoulders.

"Lois, sweetie, are you ok?" He looked worried, and she shook her head.

"The whole time we were sitting there, I just couldn't stop thinking about my dream." She said in between gasps.

"I know, but honey, but we have no reason to believe that he's getting his memory back, or that he's anything but mildly interested in us." He rubbed her back comfortingly, kneading at the knots in her shoulders.

She nodded shakily. "I know. Its just…look at what he did to you. Look at what he did to Lana, and he loved her."

"Lois, he never loved Lana. He only married her because he wanted to get back at me." Clark said sadly. "It's my fault that Lana ended up how she did. Everyone's life would be so much better if I had never come here. I should have died with my people on Krypton."

In one swift movement, Lois had turned and punched him in the shoulder. "Don't you dare say that! Without you, where would I be?"

He looked at her, shocked, rubbing his arm. "That actually hurt."

"Without you, I'd be living alone in Metropolis, with no kids and no family." She sighed.

"Lois…your punch…that actually hurt!" He was looking at her like she had two heads.

"What?" Her brow knit in confusion.

"When you punched me…it actually hurt my arm."

"What?" Her face cleared as a look of shock passed across her face. "How could that happen?"

"It's probably the Kryptonian in you coming out." He said nervously, and she nodded. "Do you want to go home? Maybe take the rest of the day off?"

Lois sighed. "No, I have work to finish. Plus, I just got here." She smiled. "Let's just get to work and forget this morning ever happened."

Clark nodded. "I'll call my mom and let her know we're coming by this weekend."


	35. Chapter 35

Sorry it took so long for me to post this. Life of a grad student is full of homework, observation hours, actual class time and work. Enjoy, and I hope to see you all soon!

* * *

Lois rolled out of bed and plodded into the bathroom. She started the shower and slipped under the warm water, allowing it to soothe her sore back. She'd put on six pounds in a week and a half. She had a distinct baby bump now, and her weight gain showed no sign of slowing. Martha had insisted on purchasing twin bassinets for them, which were being shipped over.

She climbed out of the shower, wrapping a towel firmly around her. She glanced down. The towel wouldn't close completely around her. She sighed. It didn't really matter, it wasn't like Clark would mind. Lately it seemed that the bigger she got, the more he called her beautiful. It was odd, because the bigger she got, the more ugly she felt.

She walked into the bedroom, and noticed that he wasn't there. Her brow knit in concern, and she walked into the living room then into the kitchen. Still no sign. She finally found him in the office. He was sitting on the computer, in just a pair of pajama pants, WebMD pulled up on the browser.

When she walked though the doorway, he turned around and looked at her guiltily.

"What are you looking at?" She walked up behind him and glanced at the screen. The title at the top said, "Your Pregnancy Week by Week".

"Oh…nothing." He tried to close out the window, but she put a hand on his shoulder.

"Were you WebMDing our pregnancy?" She laughed.

"Well…I just don't know what to expect." He said defensively. "I want to know what's coming."

"No, I completely understand." She smiled, sitting down next to him. "What does it say?"

"Well, did you know that they have their fingerprints already? And that they should be responding to outside stimuli?" He said excitedly and she laughed.

"Also, have you been constipated?" He asked seriously, and she blushed.

"Clark!"

"What? The website says that because of all the hormones you should be constipated and eat more raw vegetables to counteract that. Let me fix you some carrot sticks." He started to stand, but she stopped him, pushing him back down in the chair.

"I can think of something better to do before work." She said as seductively as she could.

"Oh really?" He raised his eyebrows, and she climbed on top of him, straddling his legs.

"Really." She pressed her lips to his, and he reached behind her, tugging the towel away from her still damp skin. He ran his calloused hands across her soft skin, tracing circles with his fingertips in the small of her back. She giggled, and he moved his hands across her hips, splaying his hands across the taut skin of her belly. It was stretched across the small hard bump of the babies. He buried his face in the crook of her neck and his nose was assaulted by the smell of her shampoo, soap, and a scent that was purely Lois. He nibbled at her neck and she gasped in delight.

She tugged at the drawstring of his pajama pants, and he lifted his hips to slide them down his legs. He groaned as she cupped his erection, and he grasped her waist, lifting her off of him and setting her on the edge of the desk. He slid out of the desk chair, kneeling in front of her. He propped one leg up on his shoulder, nibbling the skin of her thigh.

Lois felt her eyes drift shut. He used one hand to open her, and slowly licked at her seam. She gasped, bucking her hips up. One hand reached out to grasp at the curtain behind the computer, and the other tangled in Clark's dark hair. He sucked and licked at her clit, and she moaned in desperation. He flicked his tongue, her hips moving in time with his mouth.

A hand came up, his pointer finger sliding into her. He crooked it, and she saw stars.

"Oh my God." She moaned, her hips bucking faster. Her eyes were shut tight, a strange heat building behind them.

"Clark." She said, warningly. Something strange was going on. He didn't stop at her warning, continuing to flick his tongue against her.

"Clark! Oh…God!" She orgasmed, her juices flooding his tongue. Her eyes flew open, heat pouring from them. All she could see was red, and when Clark pulled away, she was slumped on the desk and the wall across from her was on fire.

He took a deep breath, blowing out the fire in one deep breath. He rushed to Lois, who was propping herself up with one hand. Her eyes were squeezed shut and her brow was furrowed.

"Lois? Are you ok?" He placed a gentle hand on her shoulder, and she shook her head. He grabbed her chin, turning her face to look at him. She allowed her head to be turned. Her hazel eyes opened, searching for his face, but seeing nothing.

"Clark…I can't see."

* * *

He bundled Lois up against the cold, the entire time she protested that she could dress herself. However, when she put her shirt on backwards, he had insisted on dressing her. Instead of putting a coat on, he wrapped her in the comforter from their bed, looping her arm over his shoulder.

He flew as fast as he could to the arctic, a sense of panic flooding him. God, he had been so foolish and stupid to have sex with her. He beat himself up the whole way there. He landed in the Fortress, setting her down gently in the snow.

"Jor-El!" He called out to the AI, and the console lit immediately.

"Kal-El, my son, what has happened?"

"Lois is injured." He stepped towards the consol, and Lois struggled to get up from the snow, the comforter clutched tightly around her shoulders with one hand.

"I see. I will see what I can do." The voice boomed through the crystalline structure.

A beam of light engulfed her, and Clark waited patiently as Jor-El examined his fiancée. Finally, she was set back down on the ground. Her eyes blinked against the light, and Clark was relieved to see that they were clear.

"Clark…" She reached her hands out to him, and he swept her up in a bear hug.

"God, Lois. I thought you were blind for good." He ran a hand down her cheek and she smiled.

"No, Jor-El healed me."

"Kal-El. I wish to inform you of my findings." Jor-El's voice boomed ominously through the Fortress.

He set Lois gently on her feet and turned back towards the console. "Yes, Father?"

"It appears that due to the influx of hormones that occurs with pregnancy, Lois Lane has developed heat vision. When it was activated, her mostly human eyes could not withstand the force. However, by applying UV rays, the Kryptonian healing mechanism was able to repair her vision."

Was it just him, or did the AI sound disapproving?

"Thank you, Father."

"Kal-El. I urge you caution. For while Lois Lane's body is changing, she is unstable. There is no telling what may happen. There is no written or memorable knowledge of this every happening."

Clark sighed, frustrated. "So I must hold my breath around her?"

"No, Kal-El, but remember-there may come a time when I will not be able to fix things."

He nodded. "Thank you." He turned back toward Lois, who was shivering, despite the comforter wrapped around her. She wrapped her arms around his neck, so that she was enveloped in his body heat, the duvet trapping the warmth. She rested her head on his chest, stepping onto his feet. In one swift movement, he took off toward home.

Clark ushered her into the apartment, and he immediately went into the bathroom, turning the water on hot and filling the tub. Lois followed him, still clutching at the blanket.

"Clark…can we talk?" She said in a small voice, and he nodded from where he was sitting on the edge of the tub.

"I'm sorry." Her voice cracked on the last word, and he looked up to see tears leaking out of the corners of her eyes.

"What are you sorry about?" He jumped up, crushing her against him.

"I should have known that I would screw things up. This is all my fault." She pulled away from him, taking his spot on the edge of the tub.

"What is?" He asked, confused.

"If I were Kryptonian, we wouldn't be having this problem. I'm weak." She cried silently into her hands, and he pulled her hands away from her face.

"Lois, this is not your fault. There's nothing wrong with you. It's just a problem that we have. We'll get through this. We did learn one thing, though, Jor-El used UV rays to heal you, which we can get anywhere. All you need is to be exposed to the sun, like me, in order to heal." He kissed her gently on the forehead, and she nodded in defeat.

"Does this mean no more sex until the babies are born?" She looked up into his eyes and he laughed.

"Those hormones must really be running rampant. I don't think you've ever thought about sex this much before."

She pouted, sticking out her lower lip. "I can't help it."

"I know." He ran his thumb across the still protruding lower lip. "But maybe we should cool it for awhile. I could still hurt you, and I'd kill myself if I hurt you or the babies."

She rolled her eyes. "Is this bath for me?" She gestured at the now full tub and he nodded.

"I thought you could use some warming up after a trip to the arctic." He rubbed her arms vigorously and she nodded.

"Thank you."

She dropped the blanket that was still wrapped around her and shucked her clothes. He nodded and ducked out of the bathroom, disappearing into the living room.

When Lois emerged from the tub, she pulled on a pair of sweats and a tee shirt. Clark was wearing almost exactly the same thing, and she thought it was funny how their wardrobe had become so similar throughout their relationship. He was putting the finishing touches on an article in the office. She pulled on a pair of socks, and plodded up behind him, rubbing at the muscles of his shoulders and neck. He groaned and his chin hit his chest.

"I think I'm going to go for a walk."

"What? Lois, do you really think that's a good idea?" He asked worriedly, but she shrugged.

"I'm supposed to get moderate exercise, aren't I? Plus, I need to get out of here for awhile. Maybe I'll go see Chloe and Bobby." She smiled and he nodded.

"Ok, well, be careful. What do you want for dinner?"

"Hmm." She thought for a few minutes. "Roast chicken?"

"Mashed potatoes and green beans?" He asked.

"Yeah!" She grinned, walking away. "You know me too well."

"I know you like I know the back of my own hand." He grasped her wrist, spinning her to face him. Clark pressed a kiss to her lips and she rested her hands on his shoulders.

"Be safe. Call me if you need me." He released her and she walked out.

Lois stepped out onto the bustling street, sticking her ear buds in and strapping her iPod on her arm. She started off walking slowly towards the Queen penthouse. Before she had gotten pregnant, she had used to run every day, either before or after work. Emil had told her that as long as she was used to running before the pregnancy, she could keep it up for as long as she was comfortable, but she had decided against it. Tonight, though, there was the smell of spring in the air, and she wanted nothing more than to break out in a run.

She started off at a light jog, heading down the street. The sun shone brightly on her shoulders and head, and with every step, her heart grew lighter. She transitioned to a run, her feet beating a steady rhythm against the pavement. The beat of the music in her ears matched the beat of her feet.

Suddenly, she was flying across the pavement, her feet a whir across the concrete. Buildings and people were a blur next to her. She tried to slow, but her feet kept moving. Her breath was coming in sharp pants and a stitch was growing in her side. The buildings had disappeared, and she was running across the prairie. There was a sharp stabbing in the arch of her foot, and she shouted at the pain. A cloud stretched across the sun, and she felt her feet slow. She collapsed to the ground, taking deep calming breaths. She reached into the pocket of her sweats, pulling her phone out.

Lois flipped it open, speed dialing Clark. She couldn't even get the words out. All that came out were sharp panting breaths.

"Lois? Lois? Are you there?" His voice called out to her through the phone.

"Clark." She said breathily. "Come quickly."

* * *

When they returned home, Clark hastily felt all of her muscles and bones. Nothing was broken, although some muscles appeared to be strained. He x-rayed her carefully. It looked as though she had lost some weight from her expedition into Nebraska, which couldn't be good for the babies.

"Clark, seriously, I'm fine." She sighed and he shook his head.

"You need to eat something, Lois. You've used up a lot of energy in that run."

"Ok, I'll eat whatever you want me to." She collapsed onto the couch, kicking her tennis shoes off. He disappeared into the kitchen and reappeared with a tray of food a few minutes later. Left over roast beef and carrots were steaming on the plate, and two glasses were next to it.

"What are those?" She gestured to them.

"I called Emil. He suggested that you drink an Ensure and a protein shake with every meal."

She wrinkled her nose at it and he sighed. "Lois, you have to drink it. It's the only way to prevent you losing weight."

"I know." She said wearily, and held her nose as she downed them quickly. She gagged on the last gulp, but managed to keep it down. Lois quickly shoved some of the beef into her mouth to get rid of the taste.

He smiled worriedly at her.

"Clark. Seriously. I'm fine." She smiled, spearing a carrot and popping it in her mouth.

"I just worry." He chewed his lip and she nodded.

"There's nothing to worry about. It was a glitch. I'm sure it won't happen again."

"What if it's not?"

"Then I just have to learn to control it. You learned." She accused.

"Maybe we should go see Jor-El again. Maybe there's a way to stop it." He strode to the bookcase, reaching for the leather bound notebook he had once given Lois. He flipped through it, frantically reading the Kryptonian.

He snarled at the book, throwing it to the ground. "There's nothing in here. I just wish there was more information. That's the worst thing, being in the dark."

"Well, we'll take it as it comes." She shrugged, continuing to pick at her food.

"What if something happens at work?" He began to pace back and forth in front of her.

"Clark, you're going to wear a hole in the floor. Sit down." She patted the couch next to her and he sat.

"Look, I can't promise that everything is going to be fine. But I can promise that we will handle it. There's nothing that we can't handle. It'll all work out in the end." She rested a hand on his knee and he sighed.

"I hope you're right, Lo. I just can't help but feel that we have a rough few months ahead of us."


	36. Chapter 36

A/N: Sorry it's taken me so long to update this. I've been off of school for at least a month, and apparently school is my "juice" for writing. So, luckily for you, school started back up on Monday! Anyway, I've been sitting on this chapter for awhile, debating on whether or not I wanted to post it before the next big dramatic "upheaval" that's coming, which it IS coming. But, I wanted them to have a moment of contentment before the drama. I haven't written the next chapter, but I know people are getting anxious for this chapter. Enjoy!

* * *

For the first time in weeks, Lois woke up before Clark. He was still sound to sleep, an arm thrown over his eyes to block them from the light, and the other arm tucked under her head. She had had a hard time staying asleep. Her legs kept falling asleep due to poor circulation. Finally, Clark had gotten frustrated with her and forced her to lie on her side, tucking a pillow between her knees.

She had rested her cheek against his chest, and with his arm as a pillow, tucked around her shoulders, she had slept comfortably on her side. It had been a stressful week. Clark had resumed patrol at night and sometimes even during the day and they had gone to D.C. She had had to cover for him with Cat twice. Lois had grown more and more irritable with Cat, particularly after she had told her off. She'd insisted on hounding Clark, and every time Lois saw her idiotic face, she wanted to punch her. Otherwise, all was well in Metropolis. The people were extremely happy that Superman had returned. Headlines blared his return, and Clark was happy to return to the limelight.

Meanwhile, Lois and Clark's relationship had gotten infinitely better now that they weren't fighting or even spending 24 hours a day with each other. She was able to tolerate his hovering and constant need to take care of her. She spent most of her free time with Chloe, Hal and Jennifer, who had turned out to be a very good friend.

However, she couldn't shake the feeling that she was being watched. Maybe it was her mind playing tricks on her, but a few times throughout the week, she'd been sure that she heard footsteps fall in step behind her as she was walking to work or to the market. When she'd turned around, there had been no one there. Clark had probably convinced the League that she needed a constant tail, and didn't want her to know.

Now, it was Saturday and she had her first real sonogram with Emil. Chloe, Oliver and Bobby were coming over and they were all going over to Watchtower. Then, the plan was to do lunch and shopping. Oliver and Clark had bitched about it constantly since she and Chloe had made the plans, but they needed their brawn. She usually tried to hold on to the last vestiges of sleep, and this morning was the same. She could spend her entire life lying next to Clark Kent, feeling his heat warm her skin.

His arm dropped from his eyes, and he glanced down to see her staring up at him.

"Hey you." He squeezed her round the shoulders, and she stretched.

"Are you ready for today?" She wriggled from his grasp and he laughed.

"Sure am. Want some breakfast?" He swung his legs over the side of the bed, his hands hitting the ceiling as he stretched.

"Waffles?" She said eagerly, and he nodded.

"Go on. You shower. I'll start." He strode, naked, into the kitchen, and Lois disappeared into the bathroom.

When she emerged from her shower, clean and some of her new clothes on, she sat at the table. He was completely clothed and finishing up the waffles, arranging them artfully on a plate. He sat them in front of her, along with a protein shake and an Ensure, which she wrinkled her nose at.

"Lois…" He started, but she shook her head.

"There's no need, Clark. I'll drink it." She downed it quickly, holding her breath.

Just as she was finishing breakfast, there was a light knock on the door. Clark opened the door, and the Queen family stood on the other side of the door. Oliver had Bobby strapped to his chest in a sling, a sheepish grin on his face. Chloe was almost vibrating with excitement. She bounded into the apartment, a grin on her face.

"Are you guys ready?" She asked, and Oliver rolled his eyes.

"Yep." Lois stood, her belly bumping into the table slightly. "But, it's not like we're going to be surprised or anything. We already know what we're having."

"What?" Chloe asked, shocked. "When did you find out?" Her mouth turned downed in disappointment.

"You didn't tell her?" Lois turned to Clark, an accusing look on her face. Clark paled and she sighed.

"I'm sorry, Chlo. Clark was supposed to tell you. We went to the Fortress after our week away. After Emil discovered that I was invulnerable, we thought it best to see Jor-El, and he told us." She said apologetically.

"It's ok." A lot of the wind had gone out of Chloe's sails, but she managed to keep a smile on her face. "What's the verdict?"

"We're having twins. A boy and a girl." Lois grinned, and Chloe squealed in excitement.

"That's so awesome! Oh my gosh!" She wrapped her arms around her cousin, and Lois nodded.

"Should we get going, guys? You wouldn't want to miss your appointment." Oliver said uncomfortably. For some reason, Oliver always seemed out of place anywhere outside of the office or Watchtower.

They headed out. It was unseasonably warm for the beginning of April, so they had all left their jackets at home. It always amused Lois how she and Clark dressed alike. Her color palette had become akin to his standard yellow, blue and red. She was wearing a maternity jean skirt and blue top. Clark was the mirror opposite of her in jeans, work boots and a red tee.

The four of them arrived at Watchtower, and Emil ushered her into the examination room. Clark was hot on her heels, and she hopped up onto the table.

"Could you roll your shirt up and skirt down a little, Lois? I just need access to your belly." Emil said sheepishly. She nodded, doing as he asked. Clark stood by her head, brushing her hair off of her forehead. She grinned up at him, and he kissed her on the tip of her nose.

She watched as Emil squirted some blue gel on her stomach, and she almost jumped out of her skin.

"Sorry, I should've warned you it'd be a little cold." Emil said, smiling. He pressed the wand into the gel, running it across her skin. The screen lit up, a mass of black and shades of gray.

"Ok, let's see what we have." Emil said, gazing intently at the screen. He moved the wand a little lower, and stopped. "Alright, here's a baby. See, you can see the little feet?" He gestured to the screen. The soles of two little feet were clearly visible, and Lois grinned. Emil moved the wand again.

"Here are their heads. And, there's your boy." He looked at them, and Clark was smiling from ear to ear.

"It looks like he's sucking his thumb." Lois said, pointing at the screen.

"You're right. He is." Emil said, smiling.

Lois watched as her son sucked his thumb. She glanced at Clark, who was grinning from ear to ear. She was suddenly struck by the feeling that this was the happiest they had been in months. For some reason, it felt precarious. Like they were balancing on the edge of a sword. On one side was happiness, and at any moment, someone could come along, and push them into the abyss.

After looking at their girl, and making sure everything else was fine, Emil wiped the gel off of her skin, and she pulled her shirt back down.

"Now, it's nothing to be concerned about, but I wanted to let you know that it appears that your pregnancy is progressing a little more rapidly than a regular pregnancy." Emil said bracingly.

"What does that mean?" Lois asked, paling.

"It just means that Jor-El was right. If I didn't know anything about you, and just had to guess how far along you are by your size and the size of the babies, I would guess you're about sixteen weeks, but we both know you're only fourteen weeks. If things keep progressing like this, I'd say you'd be due late August, early September instead of mid September." He patted her gently on her shoulder.

"You're sure you're not worried?" Clark asked him, chewing his bottom lip.

"Not in the slightest. The babies are healthy, Lois is healthy, there is nothing to worry about." He smiled at both of them. "Call me to set up your appointment for next month."

Out in the bright sunshine, any fears that Lois had felt inside abated. Clark threaded his fingers through hers and Bobby cooed happily, kicking his feet happily against Oliver's abdomen. Ollie glanced down at his son and smiled. For a moment, Clark saw Ollie's smile reflected on Bobby's face, and he wondered if he would ever look at his children and see himself staring back at him.

They went to several different stores, and by the time five o'clock rolled around, Lois had had enough of breast pumps, sheets, onesies, bra pads, car seats and diaper genies. They stumbled into a small bar and grill, sliding into a booth in the back.

They ordered, and as the food arrived, Oliver broached the topic he had been skirting around all afternoon.

"So, have you guys thought of moving into a new place?" He asked nonchalantly, cutting into his steak.

"What?" Lois asked, shocked. "We just moved in to the new place a little bit ago."

"Well, when the babies are old enough to have their own rooms, you're going to be out of an office. Then where will you work when you're at home?" Chloe said. "The only reason we ask is because we can help. Oliver owns several properties that he'd be willing to sell you. Right Ollie?"

Oliver nodded, and Lois felt a surge of outrage. This was just so typical of her cousin, always trying to plan her life for her.

"Actually, I've already thought of that." Clark said, sheepishly, glancing at Lois. "I wanted to wait until the babies were born, but I guess now's a good of time as any." He reached into his pocket, and pulled out a single brass key. He set it on the table with a click, and Lois looked from him then back to the key.

"Mrs. Worthington-from next door-her kids put her in assisted living last week. I saw her son Joe coming out of her apartment, and we started talking about how nervous he was about selling it in this market. I offered to take it off his hands for almost next to nothing. We just have to hire a contractor in order to combine them." He shrugged, and Lois's mouth fell open.

Lois, Chloe and Oliver all stared at the key, which was glinting in the light.

"You bought it already?" Lois asked offhandedly.

"Yeah, but look-I can sell it if you don't want to combine them." Clark said quickly. "We can always move, if that's what you want. I just know that you like our place, and I do too, so I thought it would be a good idea." He was babbling now. He reached for the key, but Lois put her hand on top of his.

"No. I love it. It's a good idea. I'm just a little surprised that you thought of it and bought it already." She laughed.

"Why is it so surprising?" He asked, spearing his chicken and resuming to eat, suddenly aware that he was famished.

"I don't know." She shrugged. "You're just normally not so unpredictable. I kind of like it." She rested her hand on his thigh, and he swallowed his food, glancing at her sideways.

Chloe glanced away, and Oliver cleared his throat. "Well, I know a great contractor." He said, as his wife lifted their sniffling son from his seat, holding him against her chest. "I'll give you his number."

"Thanks, Oliver." Lois said gratefully.

Dinner ended, as almost every meal out with the Queens did, in Clark and Oliver arguing over the bill, with Ollie winning out. Chloe and Oliver decided to call a car, and offered to take them home, but they refused. It had gotten dark while they were in the restaurant, and the streetlights had come on. A perfect night for walking.

It was unseasonably warm for April, and they had left their jackets behind when they had left the apartment that morning. A warm breeze ruffled Lois's hair and swirled around her bare legs. He draped an arm around her shoulder, and she snaked hers around his waist.

"It's so beautiful out. I can't believe it's almost summer." She said with a sigh.

He nodded, sweeping her hair off of her shoulders, and allowing it to cascade down her back. "I feel bad for you."

"Why?" She laughed, and he shrugged.

"Because you'll be nine months pregnant during the dog days of summer."

"I hadn't thought of that." She was quiet for a few minutes. "I wanted to say-I think you did a good thing in getting that other apartment. It'll be nice having a bigger place."

"I think the twins will appreciate having their own rooms when they get older. The last thing we need is two fifteen year olds fighting over which side of the room is theirs." He laughed, but Lois shuddered.

"They aren't even born yet, and you're imagining them as fifteen!" She squealed.

"I'm sure it'll be here before we know it." He said and she grimaced. They continued to walk, watching several people emerge from condo buildings, dog leashes wrapped around their forearms.

Lois ran a hand up the back of his shirt, allowing the warmth of his skin to radiate down her arm.

"Do you think we should start on the apartment right away?"

"We don't have to." He shook his head. "It's not like we'll need it right away. It'll be easier to have the twins in our room for the first few months, then in the same room until they're about two or so, just so we can keep our eyes on them." He grinned and she laughed.

"Of course, since their both Kents, they'll need two sets of eyes on them at all times."

"Hey!" He dropped his hand from her shoulder, tickling her under her arm. She giggled.

"You know I'm right!"

Clark stopped, a serious expression on his face. "It's not the Kent side I'm worried about."

"Hey!" She said indignantly, putting a hand on her hip.

"That's not what I mean. I meant-I'm more worried about the El in them, than the Lane or the Kent." He said, chewing his lip in worry.

She sighed. She knew this topic would come up eventually, she just didn't expect it so soon. "They're only Els if you want them to be. You aren't an El, you're a Kent. Superman is an El. If they want to be Els when they're older, than they can be, but if they want to stay Kents, they can do that too. They can do whatever they want."

He nodded, reaching for her hand. Whenever he was around her, he found it hard not to touch her. He could feel the pulse of her heart beat through his skin and it comforted him.

"Have you thought of names at all yet?" He asked her after a moment of silence.

She flushed, but nodded.

"And?" He poked her in her hardened belly, and she shied away from him. They had arrived at their apartment building. He pulled her into the doorway, wrapping his arms around her shoulders.

"I think I know what their names are." She said quietly, and he stilled, waiting for her to continue. "

Lois shook her head. "I don't know, this may sound dumb, but they just came to me. It's like they named themselves."

"Ok, so what are they?" He asked apprehensively.

"Ella Lara and Jonathan Jerome." She said to Clark's feet, a blush coloring her cheeks and neck.

Clark was silent for a long time until finally, Lois glanced up at his face. His green eyes were glassy with unshed tears, and a smile played across his lips.

"Dad would be so happy, Lo. I just wish he were here." He hooked his arms under her armpits, and hauled her up against him, burying his face in her neck.

"Mom would be too."

He pressed his lips to hers, but pulled away when the door to their apartment building opened. They stepped aside for the family that lived on the floor below them.

"Come on. Let's go up." Lois grabbed his hand and tugged him into the building.

"Alright." Clark glanced up at the streetlight outside of their building, the warm yellow light pooling on the darkening pavement, and he couldn't help but feel that this feeling of contentment was fleeting.


End file.
